


Mitosis - Soul Division

by TheJamaicanWeeb



Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Best Friends, Crack, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Cross-cultural, Cuddling & Snuggling, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, Feels, Fights, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Homesickness, Humour, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Health Issues, Modified Cannon, Multi, Platonic Relationships, Platonic Soulmates, Romance, Suggestive Themes, Teasing, Tsunderes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:48:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 40,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26415919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheJamaicanWeeb/pseuds/TheJamaicanWeeb
Summary: Sinai agreed to take part in an inaugural academic exchange program only to realize it wasn't exactly what she expected. She misses her family, the sunshine, her DOGS. To make matters worse, someone is trying to sabotage the program and they are willing to destroy one of the people she loves the most in the process. How long does she have to stay here for again?Pretty much follows the main story with modifications and the development of some minor characters and some of the pop quizzes.
Relationships: Asmodeus (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) & Original Female Character(s), Beelzebub (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) & Original Female Character(s), Leviathan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Leviathan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me) & Original Female Character(s), Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me) & Original Female Character(s), Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!) & Original Female Character(s), Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me) & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 22





	1. Prologue: The Average Candidate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok this is a late, late addition but going through this again I think this is important There are some cultural differences at play in this chapter with regards to the issue of discipline. What I have written here is considered normal in JA and across the Caribbean. As in, so normal this was stuff that was casually brought up, discussed flat out joked about during break times at school. Hell, sometimes we would even try one-up each other (I know, messed up when I look back at it lol) Anyways, all of this to say trigger warning for what could well be considered abuse

**Name** : Sinai

 **Age:** 23

 **DOB** : 08/09/1996, Sunday 11:58 pm

 **Highest Level of Education:** Associates Degree BB Med Sci. Undertaking an MBBS degree.

 **Race:** Human

 **Region:** South America and the Caribbean

Shadows obscured the rest of the information. A black-gloved hand picked up the profile that had slipped from the short stack of papers on the desk. Intelligent scarlet eyes scanned the rest of the page quickly, then glanced at the small picture fastened to the upper right-hand corner.

The young woman in the picture beamed up at him. A wide smile crinkled her russet brown eyes shut. Large red glasses sat on top of a short nose. While her round face made her appear a few years younger at first glance, dark under-eye circles added the years back. The raven-haired demon placed the paper on the desk and ground the heels of his palms against his eyelids, trying in vain to rub the gritty feeling of fatigue away. He stifled a yawn as his DDD rang.

“Hm?”

“Lucifer?”

As always, Diavolo sounded animated, even in the early hours of the morning.

“You’re still awake, I see. Decided yet?” Lucifer sank back into his chair. The weight of his exhaustion sat on his chest, pushing the air out in a sigh.

“Not yet,” he responded, brushing his hand over his forehead.

“Hey, don’t agonize over this for too long, all right? You can just pick one at random, really. Besides, it’s pretty late and you’ve been running on fumes as is.”

“I’m fine.”

“You fell asleep mid-sentence at lunchtime.” Diavolo pointed out.

Lucifer made a non-committal sound as he glanced down at the profile in front of him. The time on his wristwatch made him regret checking (as it usually did). He had long since stopped trying to keep track of the scores of profiles that had made the shortlist of humans. They blurred together after the first hundred or so. He glanced at the paper in front of him and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“You know what? Yes, I have decided. At least this one seems less... mischievous than Solomon.” he muttered as an afterthought

“Oh? Great! Send a picture?”

“Sure.”

Diavolo pulled the DDD away from his ear as the message came in. He switched the call to speakerphone.

“I see what you mean,” he commented with a laugh, “Well, she seems nice enough,”

“I suppose so. What should I do with the rest?”

“Ah, don’t worry about it now. Get to sleep! It’s not like they’ll run away,” Lucifer rolled his eyes. He could practically see Diavolo waving off his question. He glanced at his watch again and groaned internally.

“Fine,” he conceded, turning off the desk lamp and ending the call.

As he stood and stretched, a draft entered, making the flames in the fireplace dance and disturbing the pile of papers.

“Oh, no you don’t!” he growled, slamming his DDD on top before striding across the room to latch the window shut.

Unbeknownst to him, a single candidate had escaped, whisked out into the chilly night air. It danced erratically across the starry sky, fluttered through the wrought iron bars of the gate before coming to rest on the sidewalk for a moment. The wind whisked it upwards and then:

_Rip!_

A small dark clawed hand snatched it out of midair, perforating the margins.

“Hey.” said the small horned creature, nudging its companion. Its voice lay somewhere in the territory between a hiss and a high-pitched rasp. It was the kind of sound which brought to mind the image of nails scraping a chalkboard; the kind of sound that made your hair stand on end. “Look at this.”

The small group glanced around before swiftly melting into the shadows, their dark essence silently oozing around the corner into a hidden alleyway. One by one they re-materialized, their razor-sharp teeth on full display as their ever-present malevolent grins further widened, distorting their faces

“Interesting, very interesting” one finally broke the silence, squinting at the paper.

“If this is one candidate for the exchange programme…”

“...it would be a shame if a human was killed during such a delicate attempt at diplomacy,” another continued, its tongue flickering out briefly.

“If Diavolo finds out about this, he’ll have our tails for sure,” one of them quipped, its tail nervously twitching back and forth.

“Please, there are millions of us. There’s no way they’d be able to pin it on us,” scoffed the Little Devil holding the profile. “Besides, when has anyone really cared about us lesser demons?”

“Humans are the weakest creatures across the three realms and if this stupid programme works out who knows what will come next? What if they expect us to stop eating them? What if they expect us to start viewing them as… as equals,” it hissed, the distaste in its voice palpable. It looked up, its glowing eyes meeting those of each of its companions’.

“We’re already at the bottom of the food chain here. I’m not about to let a such a pathetic race push me further down. It’s- it’s just unnatural. Anyway, are you with me or not?”

“We’re with you,” someone piped up. The others nodded in agreement.

“Good.”

The dark talons scraped across the photograph of the human, leaving three parallel gouge marks. They all leaned in as their ringleader lowered its voice to a harsh whisper. “Here’s what we’re gonna do…”

* * *

The human’s picture and summary were pinned to the notice board hours before the occupants of the House of Lamentation stirred. At least those who had bothered to go to bed at all. Lucifer paused briefly on his way out the door. Nothing about the human felt familiar. Pride wasn’t a vice that she struggled with. Based on what he could discern, being self-effacing was second nature to her. A smirk with equal parts contempt and sadism came to his face as he left, as he contemplated how to break her in the face of his sin. _I hope your resolve is firm, human. I could do with a challenge._

“Has Lucifer lost it? She looks like a kid! Did the chihuahua need a playmate or something?”

“I know this might be hard, but don’t be stupid. Her cheeks are just a bit chubby. What kid has acne scars like that? Hasn’t she heard of retinols?”

The taller of the two snorted and snapped a picture of the notice board to send in the group. Intense ultramarine eyes flickered up to the picture for a split second before he walked off, his key-chain swaying with every step. In a fluid motion, he pushed his hair off of his forehead and affixed his trademark sunglasses to his face.

“Do you know her?” his brother called after Mammon’s retreating figure

“Ain’t seen her in my life.”

With that Mammon left, his mind already on the business opportunities he’d laid out for the day. Asmodeus continued to survey the young woman, absentmindedly tapping a manicured finger to the corner of his mouth. He had met her, only for a moment. That was strange considering her age. After a few more seconds of scrutiny, he shrugged and went back to his room to continue his weekly detox. No doubt existed in his mind that she would fail any test he presented her with. Who wouldn’t, especially since it was so much fun? Who wouldn’t want to fall to one of the world's favourite sins?

Towers and towers of books, all rather precariously stacked, surrounded the Avatar of Wrath as he worked. He tossed his DDD carelessly on his bed about two hours earlier, freeing himself from distractions while he finished his Latin assignment. In all fairness, he finished what the lecturer required him to do but the number of languages from the human realm that originated from the official language of the Devildom. Despite being engrossed in a particularly large tome, he navigated his way around shorter piles without losing his balance. He picked up his phone and checked the notifications.

“Sinai, huh? Interesting name.”

He shut his eyes, pensive. She was familiar, but he didn’t know her personally.

_When he opened his eyes he was glaring down at the human, towering over her tiny three-year-old form. She was crying, her large russet eyes pleading along with her choked childish voice that she didn’t want to read. He raised his palm. The crying redoubled and the picture book fell to the floor._

_She was older now, maybe about nine or ten, but she was still crying. Black and blue marks were just barely visible against her chestnut-brown skin. He was yelling at her for lying about wearing her retainer._

_Satan was then watching a scene unfold before him. Two men were standing in a kitchen yelling at one another. A middle-aged woman was trying to deescalate the situation with little success._ “Hm, a father-son spat? What does that have to do with her?” Satan wondered aloud.

_The older man whirled around with a knife in his hand. His wife ordered her son to run. He did. Hours later, at minutes to midnight, the human finally emerged, waking up after falling asleep on her textbooks. She blinked owlishly, disoriented. When the doorknob rattled and her mother walked in. In response to her confusion, her mother hugged her and explained what happened and reassured her that her brother was safe and sound at their grandma’s house. The young woman exhaled, smiled and held her mom and comforted her. For the first time, Satan could hear what she was saying._

_“_ It’s ok Mummy. I’m ok, Mattie is safe. We will be ok,”

_Her mother nodded, gave her a watery smile and turned off the kitchen lights. The human watched her mother walk upstairs before crouching down and finally letting her face crumple and hot tears race down her face, her mouth ajar in a silent scream._

Satan shook himself out of his reverie and pondered how he would go about tempting an individual to fall to a sin they feared.

The sizable shadow stopped moving as he heard the notification chime from his pocket. The duffel bag dangled from his fingertips as he squinted at the screen. His eyes widened slightly as he laid his eyes on the picture

“Huh”

He tapped the microphone icon and continued on his way as he recorded the voice note.

“I guess you could say I know her. We were closer, at least up until the last year or two. But even with her appetite, she was always sharing. I guess you could say that she was half in, half out.”

That being said, it was all too easy to fall back into old habits. Compared to the rest of his brothers, his role in testing the exchange student’s soul could be easier. The crisp breeze tousled his hair as his thoughts turned to Belphegor, a now-familiar ache constricting his heart. He wondered if his twin knew the human. He missed him.

The purple-haired demon carefully placed his gaming headset on his desk before he pushed against the ground with the balls of his feet, sending his chair rolling backwards.

“Jeez, why do these guys always blow up the stupid group chat whenever I have a campaign?” he griped, his fingers scrolling rapidly; orange eyes darting back and forth

“Really? All this over a human?” He rolled his eyes and turned back to his setup, not bothering to read the profile under the picture. Odds were he knew the human. He knew nearly every human, even if it was just in passing. After all, which of them could say that envy hadn’t crept upon them? If they did, they were lying. Testing the human’s soul would just be another game, and Leviathan was pretty damn good at games. 

* * *

“So the only two who recognized her really were Beelzebub and Leviathan?”

Lucifer nodded as he set his teacup back down. He offered his DDD to Diavolo before absentmindedly picking up a cookie. He looked around his study, somewhat aggravated about the state of his study. Every time he set time aside to get it back in order, something always seemed to come up. The height of the piles of reports and bills was alarming and the bout of sneezing that resulted from searching the shelves was a glaring reminder that it had been a while since he had last dusted. Lucifer shut his eyes and let himself slump into the armchair. The glow of the fireplace made patterns that danced across his eyelids.

A loud guffaw from his companion caused him to open one eye.

Diavolo’s shoulders were still shaking as he showed Lucifer the screen. The Avatar of Pride stared for a few moments before sitting bolt upright and snatching the phone away, eyes wide.

Two stickers were trending. One was of Diavolo in his true form, donning a beautiful -if - extravagant red ball gown. The other was of himself astride a pastel pink and purple unicorn with a rainbow horn.

His grip threatened to crack the screen as Diavolo managed to compose himself enough to speak

“That’s the best thing I’ve seen all day,” he gasped as he wiped a tear from his eye.

“Who is responsible for this?” The words barely made it through Lucifer’s clenched jaw.

“I’m not sure, I think it may have come from the student newspaper. Our students are very creative,” The Prince was either oblivious or unphased by Lucifer’s displeasure.

“Is that so? Remind me to have a talk with Mephistopheles.”

Choosing to overlook this, Diavolo planted his feet on the ground and rested his elbows on his knees.

“She didn’t have any pacts with them either? Just her own sin?” he peered at Lucifer over his steepled fingers

The dark-haired man nodded, business-like once more. Diavolo sat back, looking quite pleased with himself.

“Well then, Overall I’d certainly say she seems to be... hm,” He crossed his arms and gazed at the rafters before looking back at Lucifer “I don’t think ‘safe’ is the word I’m looking for, necessarily, but she seems like a great candidate and a counterbalance to Solomon.”

Lucifer raised his eyebrows. “A Counterbalance?”

“I mean, Solomon isn’t exactly your typical human,” the Prince elaborated

“That’s an understatement,” Lucifer muttered. Diavolo snickered, shaking his head.

“You know what I mean! A monarch, a sorcerer, a scholar and dozens of pacts to boot. He isn’t exactly average, is he?” Lucifer’s lip curled as he shook his head

“I still don’t see we kept him as a candidate,” he commented.

He didn’t expect a meaningful response, especially considering Diavolo was perched at the edge of his seat; his eyes alight the way they always were whenever he latched onto a new brainwave.

“I guess you could consider it an experiment within an experiment; one human with exceptional abilities and one who’s… well, with no offence meant to her… is perfectly average.”

A thud and muffled yelling somewhere beyond the walls cut off the Devildom Prince. Lucifer groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “What have they done now?” he exhaled, exasperated.

Diavolo patted his shoulder, trying his best not to laugh at his friend’s distress.

“It’s never a dull moment here, is there?”

“Don’t remind me. Go ahead, you were explaining…”

“Oh yes. I figured it would be an excellent case study. How would the average human when compared to an angel or a demon? What help would they need and how much? If change is to happen, then we need to be on an equal footing across the realms.”


	2. Am I In Trouble?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter! I hope that it gives a good idea of SInai's perspective

_Entry 1 January 5th 2020_

I’m still shook. Like, legitimately shaken to my core. My world hasn’t just been turned upside down, oh no. They have tossed my life in a blender with the lid off and some asshole just let it rip. The only thing that’s grounding me (besides writing this down now I guess) is the fact that the first thing my dumb, clumsy ass self did when I went into my new bedroom was bang my pinkie toe on the bed frame. So yep, definitely awake. I’ve probably known for a while, but that kinda clinched it

So let me give a rundown of how I got where I am, like my whole situation. Imagine if you get an email from the Dean of your faculty. And she wants a meeting. Now if you were like a little goodie two shoes in prep/primary school, high school and (be honest with yourself, people) university, your heart just about sinks down to the core of the earth as you shift through everything from being late to classes to unpaid school fees, just anything that could cause this calamity. Well, I couldn’t think of anything so I go, fix up myself a likkle, get to the office without throwing up, and knock.

“Come in,”

Just like the rest of the recently built facility, the Dean’s office had big rectangular glass panels as windows to make the most of the nearly year-round bright sunshine (i.e. life itself.) The sunlight was a stark, almost hilarious contrast to the arctic air conditioning. Then on top of the A/C, she had a fan running! Like who even? What?? Thermoregulation, where art thou?

Dean Reid smiled at me from behind her desk; but when I saw my parents there too, my heart sank through the damn core and was now weightless. Funny enough, I felt like that now, like everything was all surreal and floaty. 

“Ah, Sinai! Come in, come sit down. Don’t look so worried, man you’re not in trouble” 

I have to hand it to her, one of the Dean’s best qualities that she always tries to put at ease, you know? It’s almost scary, like supernatural ... But I know my parents and they’re wound up. Which wound me up. Normally whatever makes them worry is a cause for me to worry too.

“Good Afternoon Dean Reid”

The strange couch-like chair gave a bit when I sat so I sank about 2 inches, thankfully with no embarrassing squeaky sounds. The Dean surveyed me for a few seconds before she spoke.

“So Sinai, I will not prolong your anxiety any longer. I have called you to meet along with your parents to discuss an exciting opportunity to take part in an international exchange programme.”

The only sound was the gentle rustle of the papers on the desk being blown by the rotating fan.

“Exchange Programme?” 

I must have looked absolutely baffled because Mummy spoke up at that point.

“Yes, Dean Reid was just expounding on a few of the key points. Apparently, this will be the first of its kind and will last for a year.”

 _A year?_ “Oh, ok” My leg began jittering up and down at that point. 

“It would involve six students from 3 different regions, with two representatives from each.” the Dean smoothly continued with her explanation. “The curriculum is designed in a way which would ensure that one you return you can reintegrate with your current year group seamlessly. With regards to expenses...you would have none.”

“N-None?”

With a small smile, she slid a brochure into my hands. I didn’t even look at it.

“Yes Ms. James, none. Food, utilities, tuition, and general day-to-day expenses, will be taken care of. In addition to classes you are, of course, allowed to explore your host country-”

“With who?” 

That was the first time Daddy had said anything since I came up here at least. All worse it was his dangerous voice. You know that kind, the kind that says “If you’re f-ing around right now you’re screwed”? That one

“Every student who takes part will, of course, be assigned to very capable individuals whose role involves not only ensuring the safety of their exchange students but also to enrich their experience by being a cultural guide so to speak.”

I’ll be real with you guys. This was probably the point where I should have been “Hm, this sounds too good to be true. Where is the catch?”. It’s a good thing my parents are smarter than me, don’t it?

“Dean Reid, with all due respect. This seems like a wonderful opportunity but quite frankly, aside from your word, how can we vouch for the legitimacy of this venture? Especially with this being the inaugural year for this...this event?” 

Daddy picked up right where Mummy had left off.

“I think we would also like to know how Sinai was chosen for this. I certainly don’t remember her applying to anything like this, and other students perform better academically.”

 _Gee, thanks Dad, Yuh mek it soun’ like I’m a wasteman._ I side-eyed him and he side-eyed right back. _[Tsnl: You’re making be out to be a delinquent]_

“That may well be true Mr. James, this particular programme aims to have a more holistic approach. Of course, academic achievement was a big deciding factor…” she trailed off, squinted at her glasses, put them on her face and smiled once more

“...but something that we find just as important as an individual's honesty, their loyalty. Integrity and the willingness to help others. We value those who are empathetic and those who mediate with words, and impartiality, not violence or anger. So to answer your question in one statement, Sinai was chosen because we believe she embodies these characteristics, quietly yes, but consistently.”

I wished I could disappear; I had started to feel kinda uncomfortable. Something didn’t sit too right with me all the same. There were thousands, _thousands_ of people in this place and I’m sure there mussi be a good amount who were better people than me. Or at the very least didn’t cuss as much (not that that really matters,). I wasn’t buying it. I let myself detach so I could really think about this insane turn of events.

_How the hell would I leave for a year? A whole YEAR!?_

_Even so, you’d never get a chance to do this again. Do you really want to pass that up?_

_It should go to someone good enough, who deserves it, not me._

_Stop with that crap. C’mon, really think about this._

_I’m thinking. I’m thinking about the fact I’m 23 going 24 and I haven’t slept over at a friend’s house before, and no, all-nighters in the library don’t count._ _Where would I even go? 96, 97 per cent of the population here at home is black, I can’t handle being a minority I’ve never had to deal with outright prejudice._

_Ugh! You are being so so stupid! They wouldn’t just carry you to some random place and leave yuh jus’ suh. Sinai. For like two decades you’ve gone and followed every rule to the book, tried to please every person, tried to look after everyone but *you*. You’ve never done anything exciting or new. Never gone out to parties or drank or even dated. Like, sh!t girl, you’ve never ever even ditched class and one time the only person who had shown up was the lecturer._

_But-_

_Think a whole year of tuition taken care of that will help when Matthew starts won’t it?_

That’s what did me in folks. Matthew is my (not so) baby brother. I love him so so much and I always try to take care of him but things normally get messed up, and he’s the one who helps me instead. 

_You can look after him... Right here, right now. All you have to do is say-_

_Fine! God, for fuck’s sake_ “I’ll go!”

Now it took yours truly a hot minute to realise that the last part was blurted out loud and that I practically shouted it to the heavens. 

Dean Reid’s eyebrows were raised while Mummy and Daddy looked straight up dumbfounded. Heck, I was dumbfounded. 

“Well, Ms James I didn’t expect an answer during this meeting, but you seem quite enthusiastic,”

I felt my face burn as I let myself slouch into the chair. 

“While it is time-sensitive, (They’d need an answer within 3 days and I would leave four days after that) I still encourage you to discuss this before you make an ultimate decision.”

As we had left, I did something that I hadn’t done in a long time. I took each of my parents’ hands and walked all the way out of the building, right in between them. We’d be up for a long, long time that night.

**STAGE CHANGE**

The sky was still dotted with stars, the indigo just starting to lighten as the dawn approached. Only a few cars were on the road, one of which was a red SUV making its way along the Palisadoes Road. The man driving had one hand in a tight knuckled grip on the steering wheel, the other in a fist clenched on his thigh. His jaw was set and his eyes were dull as he kept his eyes on the road without really seeing anything around him. His wife’s face was flushed and crumpled with a continuous stream of tears. Her weeping was interrupted by the occasional hiccough. In the back seat, a young man stared out of the window, stony-faced. One of his broad hands held his sister’s smaller one as she gazed out her own window. She tried her best to hide her tears and take in as much of her home as she could before she departed.

Sinai was fighting sleep and it was winning. Her tears gradually subsided. Matthew glanced at her when he felt her grip on him loosen. After a casual glance at the rearview window to ensure there were no witnesses, he slowly shifted her head onto his shoulder, snickering slightly at the spot her hair products had left behind on the window. He sat stiffly before allowing himself to rest his chin on top of her head. As he yawned, a vague memory came to him of a similar situation, back when she was still taller. Then he was adrift in sleep as well.

* * *

_The soft gentle breeze caressed her face. She groaned and batted at it; she wasn’t ready to wake up yet. Bit by bit the warm heat of the sun and the itchy, somewhat soft grass underneath her clued her in to the fact that she wasn’t in a car or plane. She opened her eyes, only to be dazzled by the sun. When she could finally orient herself, she stood up, wide-eyed. The sun was just starting its descent in an azure sky that was streaked with rose and grey and gold and orange and she was on a grassy knoll. She moved to push her glasses up her nose, only to find she wasn’t wearing them. Vaguely aware of the fact she shouldn’t be able to see clearly, she looked down at the rest of herself. She was in a delicate knee-length white dress that felt weightless. Nothing was familiar except for the inexplicable piano music playing a tune she had heard before but couldn’t place. She blinked and she was no longer alone. Seven figures were around her, some sitting, some standing._

_These men were complete strangers._

_She had known these men all her life._

_They all wore easy smiles, talking and laughing and ribbing each other. She sat back down and almost immediately, two of them sat on either side of her. The shorter of the two promptly laid his head in her lap and drifted off to sleep. She exchanged a glance with the taller one and they laughed. A few minutes later, they made a game of trying to see how many dandelions they could put on the sleeper’s hair and face before he awoke._

_She sensed someone standing behind her and looked up to see the eldest of the men standing above her, a soft smile on his face that only she and the other two were capable of bringing out of him. She beamed back up at him. The light graze of fingertips on her cheek bought her attention back down to the one resting on her lap. He was now awake blinking up at her. He was halfway through a sentence, his lips forming words she couldn’t hear before he stopped, his brow furrowed. He pulled his fingertips away and they were wet. Her own hands flew up to her eyes. Why was she crying?_

_The pastel hues of the sky shifted dramatically to a scarlet moon and darkness. The grass died, withered and turned to dust which blew into her eyes, blinding her. She cried out, kneading at them with her knuckles. When she opened her eyes she froze, the whites of her eyes fully visible. She felt as though two anchors were chained to her ankles, preventing her from running from the horrific battle taking place in front of her. Normally beautiful celestial faces were twisted with pain and rage and fear. Shrieks and screams contrasted with the music which was still going on. It was mockingly calm while the world was falling apart around her. The cloying iron scent of blood made her vomit. It was everywhere. It turned the dust under her feet to mud making her feel like she was sinking further and further, becoming so immobilized that even when a figure flew at her yielding a burning scimitar she didn’t move. Someone grabbed her under her arms and yanked her out of harm’s way. The eldest immediately engaged her attacker, bellowing at her to run. She somehow found herself behind the pair that sat beside her. They were matching their assailants blow for blow but with their backs turned, neither of them saw the pair of archers taking aim._

_“No. No, no no…” she whispered. She felt as though she was a passenger in her own body as she took off running, ignoring the surprised yells. The archers changed their trajectory. Her stomach felt hollow as she noticed a third one taking aim at the shorter man._

_Two names she had never heard before left her lips; a desperate warning._

_She let out a sigh of relief as the other orange-haired young man managed to pull the other out of the way moments before the arrow would have buried itself right between the shoulder blades. A heartbeat later white-hot pain laced across her face, followed by another cruel cold shaft of metal that buried itself between her ribs and finally the worst pain through her wings, her blood dyeing her wings scarlet. There wasn’t even time to scream._

_Flesh was burning and her skull was cracking along the sutures and muscles were ripped from bones. It was agony beyond which any soul could withstand and all the while she just kept falling. The entire time the piano kept playing._

* * *

Hundreds and hundreds of miles away in a different country, a young woman bolted upright in her bed with a gasp. She trembled as her wide eyes darted around her darkened dorm room, the moonlight highlighting her unshed tears. The delicate silver chain with a cross inlaid with minuscule blue gemstones felt icy against her skin. She laid a hand on her chest, willing her heartbeat to slow down. 

She fumbled in the dark for her phone on the bedside table, nearly knocking her glasses to the floor. It was just after 4 am and the last Whatsapp conversation she had was still open.

“That’s right, she’s leaving today,” she mumbled. She set the phone back down, laid on her back and stared up at the ceiling. The last thing she wanted was for Sinai to worry about her; not when she had something this major to deal with. It could wait until later. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (P.S. Sinai does use creole/patois in her conversations and entries [it will be more obvious later on] I know that it may be hard to read, so I'll be adding translations and equivalent phrases =3 I do want to know if it's too much or messes with like the flow. So if it does, feel free to let me know!)
> 
> The piano song that I had in mind (if you want to check it out)  
> https://tinyurl.com/bluestone-congfei


	3. Lesson 1-1: Orientation Daze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone's finally awake... and confused af.

_Jan 6th 2020, Sunday_

Like after the meeting all the planning and packing and saying goodbye everything felt so freaking surreal but at least I can finally identify how else I feel. That’s right folks, I’m pissed as fuck.

I mean, I was terrified. Like on the verge of collapsing terrified, but I’m also pissed. And tired. Hella tired. Today has been long. Longer than any day I've ever gone through, and man, I have been through some days before, can I tell yuh? The last thing I remember was trying my best to keep my crying quiet as Mummy and Daddy drove us to the airport. I must’ve really looked like a wreck cause Matthew held my hand the whole time and he isn’t a touchy-feely person in the slightest. Like at all. There he goes, being the mature one when he’s supposed to be my baby brother. After a while, I had stopped crying and began looking around at everything and everyone and everywhere. An entire year. It will be an entire year. What if I forget about my likkle island, ee? _[ee: huh?]_ I wanted to remember as much as I could. 

Then I woke up in Hell.

No, yup. I’m not kidding. I woke up in Hell. Heck. The Bad Place...or the “Devildom” which is what these people are calling it.

I didn’t get to say “goodbye” or “I love you”.

Suffice to say, my initial feeling when I woke up was not a happy one.

I woke up with a jolt, with that same heart-pounding, adrenaline-fueled awakening you get when you have a nightmare about falling. My hands flew up to my face, knocking my glasses off. To add insult to injury, my uncoordinated ass poked myself in the eye. FML.

"OW! What the ever-living frick-" I grumbled, squinting around with my other eye to find them. Thankfully, they hadn't gotten far. I bent over, rubbed them with the corner of my T-shirt and put them back on

Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see when the world snapped back into focus.

The word "room" seemed inadequate to describe the gargantuan space I was in. Huge vaulted stone ceilings arched high above me, reminding me of all the pictures of cathedrals (I know, 'llow me nuh _[leave me be]_ ). The sheer scale of it made me feel tiny. I glanced at one of the tall narrow windows and did a double-take, blinking hard.

_Nope, I'm not crazy. That is definitely the night sky. Am I dreaming?_

_Did I reach already? Did I fall asleep without telling mom and dad I reached? Oh crap._

I knew that I needed to call and let them know that I was ok, but stringing my thoughts into commands that were coherent enough for my limbs to carry out was proving to be quite a challenge. My head was pounding, the pain behind my eyes warning me I was teetering on the edge of a migraine. Reflexively, I reached for my medicine bag. _If I got to the Panadol quickly enough, I might be able to fend it off before it gets any worse. No way I'm about to spend my first day in this unknown country throwing up in a dark room._

Aaaand I couldn’t find my bag.

The idea that my inhalers, allergy meds, BP meds, my _*phone*_ , my _*passport*_ weren't close by made my stomach churn and knot up with anxiety. My already fast breathing got worse. Not exactly what someone wants when you're trying to avoid an attack. I took my glasses off and closed my eyes, willing my surroundings to return to normal. Alas, when I cracked one eyelid open to peak, there was no difference. I groaned and shut them back again.

_Focus Sinai. Breathe. Now, what's the last thing you can remember?_

I wracked my brains but I couldn't remember anything beyond driving on Palisadoes Strip to the airport. Don't remember saying goodbye, checking onto the flight; nothing like that. The only seemingly logical conclusion was that I was dreaming. I nodded off during car rides all the time, and Lord knows I've had way more bizarre dreams than this.

So I figured all I have to do is wake up. Simple right?

I have never been more wrong in my entire life.

I put my glasses back on and took another look around; more details of my surroundings coming to my attention. I was on a wooden chair that was ornately carved and sturdy. Judging by the (lack of) feeling in my butt, I was probably sitting in it for a long while. I slowly tried to stand up but my legs weren't having it.

"Woah! Crap!" I had to grab onto the chair handles to keep from falling over as my knees buckled and the pins and needles feeling prickled at the soles of my feet.

As I waited for my legs to work like they used to before (I'm sorry, I had to) I got the biggest shock so far at the time. I was too busy looking up and around me that I missed what was going on right in front of my nose.

In front of me were 8 wooden chairs, larger and grander than the one I was using for support. The way they were set up kinda reminded me of a courtroom. One was on a dais that was higher than the other seven, which were side by side in a row. Above each of the seven chairs were tapestries with different creatures, yeah I know beautiful; but the goddamn tapestries weren't the problem. It was the five strangers that were staring straight at me.

The anxiety twisted into genuine fear. Every news report I have ever seen heard or read about sex trafficking and abduction and murder came to mind with an irritatingly high level of clarity. I slowly shifted to stand behind my chair, my pulse rushing hard and fast enough to drown out everything other than my now frantic thoughts. The ground beneath my feet began to feel like it was shifting. You know damn well yo' girl held into that damn chair for dear life 'cause droppin' down jus' suh in front of a bag a people mi deeven know? No sah. _[fainting in front of strangers? Hell no.]_

(In hindsight now that things have settled down it's not like I coulda done much if dem did try fi do me sumn stillz. My one, deggeh deggeh self against five men. All worse it turns out they weren't what they appeared to be? Anyway, I digress.)

_[There wasn’t anything I could really do if they tried to attack me. Me, on my own against these guys?]_

The man sitting on the highest chair stood up and began to walk down from the platform towards me. My heart sank when he drew closer. He was huge. Not just height-wise but he was built with enough solid muscle that even the conservative bright red military jacket....coat....thing.... he wore couldn't hide it. I wouldn't have been surprised if he could pick me up with one hand and I'm not the lightest person. I involuntarily took a step back, causing the chair legs to scrape across the stone slabs.

_Ok, I think that I can get good enough leverage to lift and swing this is this guy tries anything... afterwards...well I'll work that out when I come to it._

He stopped a few feet from me. I could see his face clearly now. His auburn hair lay on his forehead with his left sweeping bangs nearly covering his bright, golden-brown eyes. His nails were painted black but what stood out the most was the gentle smile on his face. His arms were open in the universally known "I mean you no harm" gesture. I let go of the back of the chair.

Now I know, I know. I'm naive, stupid, overly trusting. Whatever. You're probably right; but for whatever reason, at that moment I had a gut feeling that this guy wasn't going to hurt me. I mean he could have when I was unconscious right? Fuck, maybe he could even tell me what the heck was going on here.

"Welcome to the Devildom, Sinai"

Aaaaand there goes my little bubble of trust ‘cause how on earth does he know my name? Did he jack my ish? I shivered and started to look around again, keeping an eye out for possible escape routes this time.

No such luck. See here's the problem. There is no "flight" option for me under the best of circumstances. Yo' girl is *not* a runner. I can kick, I can punch but I cannot run. The closest set of doors were these towering heavy-looking dark stained wooden ones that I wasn't even sure I could budge; let alone throw open and run through them. Plus I'm pretty sure that this guy would be able to catch me without even needing to run.

My lack of response and the look on my face was clearly a dead giveaway to the guy that I was T-minus 10 seconds from completely and utterly losing my shit. He crossed his arms his eyebrows drawn together in what seemed like genuine concern

"Feeling a bit shocked are we?"

 _No shit Sherlock!_ I had to literally bite my tongue to stop myself from expressing *that* particular sentient aloud. _And while we're at it, WTF is a 'Devildom'?_

"As a human, it will probably take a little while for you to adjust to things here in the Devildom.

Pop quiz guys! What do you think the phrase "As a human" implies here?

That's right! This guy was something other than a human being!

I was fully waiting (And hoping. And praying) for a hidden camera crew to appear, laugh at me and send me along my merry way. Just something, anything that made more sense than what was happening right now.

"The Devildom?" I heard myself parrot back at him, hating how high pitched and false my voice sounded. I swear that it jumps up a whole octave when I'm stressed in any way.

The man...can I even still call him that after that whole human comment? Anyway, he smiled and nodded at me encouragingly.

"Yes, exactly the Devildom. I can see you catch on quickly. Excellent"

"I wouldn't exactly call that 'catching on' Imma be real with you chief" I muttered softly enough for him to miss.

"My name is Diavolo."

 _Finally a name. Why not lead with that fam?_ I nodded and gave him a brief, tight-lipped smile only for his next statement to bring me to a screeching halt mentally, physically, shit, even spiritually.

"I'm the ruler of all the demons and all here know of me"

The note of authority and pride were so clear, I believed him without any doubt.

A wave of nausea that had nothing to do with my impending panic crushed me like a tsunami.

Now I will not lie, it's been a good while since I've been to church. I grew up Anglican and may have forgotten a lot of stuff but I was pretty damn certain that the general idea was to end up high above in the clouds, not underground or wherever. My hands started trembling and my palms were sweating. The buzzing in my ears made everything else seem fuzzy. I needed to listen to these warning signs. I needed to get out of there and fast otherwise I would be a crying, hyperventilating ball of absolute panic. Lord knows how long. I kept screaming at myself to calm down, but I could. Not. Get. A. Grip.

_Did I die? Am I dead?_

_Is my family dead? Where are they?_

_Was that the last time I've seen Mummy and Daddy and Mattie again?_

_Oh, God. Oh my God. Lawd 'ave mercy. Is whe mi do? **What did I do?** _

Shadows appeared at the edges of my vision like little blobs of ink. My heart was making my chest ache, it was going so fast. Much too fast it can't sustain this. I would die. I knew it. If I hadn't died, I certainly was going to then. Or maybe that's what Hell... the Devildom is. Dying over and over again.

I didn't even feel myself being lead through a pair of glass doors onto a balcony until the cool breeze caused my skin to come to life with goose pimples. Diavolo had led me outside. For a terrifying moment my frenzied, irrational lizard brain swore that he was going to push me over the edge, but no. He had just put an open palm on my back to steady me. He bent down to get closer to my level

"Sinai I know this must be scary and a terrible shock and I offer my sincerest apologies for that," he said quietly, his eyes earnest. I nodded jerkily, a puppet with an anxious puppeteer. "Breathe. I'm not going to hurt you."

He straightened back up and gestured to the view below speaking out loud, making it seem like he had simply intended to show me the different parts of the campus. For that I was grateful. I closed my eyes and took some deep breaths. I focused on the feeling of the balcony railing I was gripping on to. I focused on the warmth of the hand pressed to my back. I focused on the cool night air of the foreign land with a combination of smells that woke me up and bewitched me at the same time. I opened my eyes so I could truly take in the sprawling kingdom... Devildom in front of me. Windows of buildings glowed every hue imaginable. A castle with huge spires towered over the immediate town and mountains silhouetted by the moon towered over that. As afraid as I was, I had to admit that the sight was breathtaking. I was calm enough to sit down and list things I was fairly certain of.

_Ok so here we go_

  1. _I'm not dead. (...at least not right now. Ugh, stop being dramatic)_
  2. _I'm not dreaming either_
  3. _I don't seem to be in any immediate danger_



It took me a moment to realize that Diavolo had stopped talking.

"Do you have any questions, Sinai?"

Fifty thousand and one of them, but the one I wanted to be answered most urgently was overridden by a query so bizarre yet important if I really was in a foreign land. 

“Was I decontaminated before I was bought to this place?” 

Diavolo frowned and glanced at the others sitting in the chairs. Everyone looked baffled. Not a good sign.

“...No… why would that be necessary?” the prince’s voice was slow and calm but the concern on his face refused to be hidden.

I stepped back, away from him and the others. I didn’t even have on my mask. Mummy had had me wearing one from the get-go since I was part of the “at-risk” population.

“There’s a virus that’s going around. Like spreading everywhere, fast. I don’t wanna bring it here. I mean, I don’t have it but just to be safe…” 

I trailed off since I had started stumbling over my own words too much to be making much sense. The room was silent before they started laughing. Now I was confused. Diavolo (much to my eternal shame) ruffled my hair.

“Hey!” my voice cracked and came out as a squeak. I felt my face warming up. _Fight me damnit!_ The Prince chortled, completely unbothered

“Sinai, I’m touched by your concerned but rest assured, it would take a very severe illness to be a serious threat to us.”

"Ok, just making sure,” I mumbled, “So then...why am I here?" At that moment, some movement from the chairs behind Diavolo caught my attention.

"I will explain everything to you."

The goosebumps were back, not because of fear this time. To be honest, I'm still not sure why they came back, but come back they did. This man's voice was deeper, more aloof. His fair skin was a stark contrast to his ebony hair, and he was within inches of Diavolo's height. When I made eye contact, I inhaled sharply. Black bleeding into burgundy, which then shifted to a bloody crimson. I glanced away, but I still felt like I was being scanned or X-rayed. It was bizarre.

Apparently that man was Lucifer. **_The_ **Lucifer.

Well, shit. Lord, help me.

Oh well. At least I'd finally be learning what's happening.

* * *

The top half of the door of the RAD bookshop was ajar. It looked forlorn without the demon who normally ran it leaning over the counter. Down the aisles, deep into the recesses of the store, the glow of a laptop caused the merchandise to cast warped shadows on the walls. Two demons scrutinized the screen, the bars representing the popularity contest results reflected in their eyes. 

“Huh,” the taller of the two ran a hand through his already messy white hair “Ya actually managed to pull it off,”

“Told you that I got this,” His friend’s bright grin stood out against his rich deep brown complexion His grin shifted into a smug smirk as he leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head.

Mammon shrugged, shaking his head.

“I just thought it would take a while, ya know?”

“You really think I’d set up an online ballot and not leave a back door for myself?” Mephistopheles snorted, closing the windows. Mammon smirked and gave the shorter demon a high five.

“See, this is why I keep ya around Phis! He crowed as he dropped into the chair beside Mephistopheles, causing it to roll back with his momentum. 

“Yeah, it has nothin’ to do with the fact that I work somewhere full of merchandise. Put that watch down you bastard,” Mephistopiles retorted, the laughter in his voice taking the sting out of his words.

“Can’t get anythin’ past you,” The Avatar of Greed put the yellow-gold timepiece he had been fiddling with back on its shelf. “The flat top works for ya by the way,”

“Oh, I know,” The demon was using his front camera to survey his jade-green style “and I was talking about the one from a week ago,”

Mammon froze for a moment then whirled around.

“What the- how did ya even- did you get cameras installed or somethin’?” he spluttered.

“I didn’t” Mephisophiles admitted, taking a swing from his sports drink “but I do keep track of my stock and something wasn’t adding up…”

Mammon’s mouth was half open in protest but a good comeback escaped him. He settled for throwing the other demon a look of wide-eyed reproach 

“Hey, no fair you played dirty,” he grumbled. 

“Yeah yeah, come get your DDD, it’s ringing,” Mephistopheles said as he scooted backwards, Mammon’s DDD in hand. Mammon snatched it from him as he went past.

“Better answer quick It’s Lucifer” he warned, stopping himself and starting to roll back from where he came from. He cringed, sympathetic, as he saw the blood drain from his friend’s face.

“Good luck,” he said getting up and sauntering to the storefront.

Mammon hurriedly cleared his throat before sliding the phone icon to the side.

“Yoooo,” he said, his leg jittering up and down.

“Yo, waah g’waan?” _[What's going on?]_

Mammon recoiled and squinted at the phone. No, he didn’t misread the caller ID. The voice certainly wasn’t Lucifer though. It was friendly with an easy-going accent he was sure he had heard somewhere before, but he couldn’t place it. The fact that the speaker was female was the biggest give away. But it didn’t sound like any of the witches either. His expression darkened as he concluded that he was being duped. He wasn’t amused. 

“Are ya foolin’ around? Who the hell are ya?” he demanded

“Woah, calm yourself an’ watch the attitude, fam” the voice shot back. He heard her sigh and she spoke again, “Sorry. I’m Sinai?”

Well, that was a name he hadn’t heard in a few millennia……. 

“What, you mean like the mountain?”

She snickered “Nah, well I-yes, but actually no… I’m a human, not a geographical feature”

“Ah gotcha,” Mammon replied nodding before he fully processed what he heard. “Wait what? A human? Why didn’t ya start with that? Had me getting chills over here,” he griped. 

He finally let the tension leave his body and he leaned against the wall. His brow unknitted slightly as she laughed softly again

“Yeah, my bad. Any-”

“So,” he said, cutting her off as he inspected his nails “what business does a human got with THE Mammon?”

“Oh ‘The Mammon’ huh?” she echoed. He could hear the smile in her voice “Lol aite then. Well, congrats you’re in charge of me for the next year.”

Mammon snorted as he peeled himself off the wall and began to wander around the store aimlessly

“Human, I don't know who you think you are but ya got the wrong demon,” A warning note crept into his voice. In the back of his mind, he toyed with the idea of just hanging up but he had to admit he was a bit curious about how this human even knew his number.

“Who are you anyway and whaddya mean by “be in charge of you”?

He met Mephistopheles’ eyes. The stockier demon looked about as baffled as Mammon felt. They both shrugged and Mephistopheles took his computer back to the front with him. He turned his attention back to the phone; the human was saying something else.

“Bruh, why yuh sound more lost than I do? Do I have the wrong number?” she was getting exasperated.

“AAH!” Mammon clapped a hand to his forehead as it finally clicked “Oh yeah, I remember you’re the other human.”

“Well yeah, who else would I be?”

“Who knows? Anyway, g’luck with that whole babysitter thing. See ya~”

He was about to end the call when he heard other voices in the background from her end of the call. The human said something to someone else before her voice got clearer again.

“Yo, Lucifer wants you,”

Mammon rolled his eyes and let go of the notebook he was absent-mindedly flipping through. Not even two minutes into their first conversation and this chick was already shaping up to be a real pain in the ass. Plus it seemed she was taking him as a joke.

“Pfft whatever,” he said, dismissive, “Ya think that THE Mammon would listen to ya just ‘cause you’re tryin’ to scare me with that name?”

A deep, familiar voice answered instead, making his hair stand on end and sweat to start beading on his forehead. 

“You’ve got 10 seconds,” Lucifer’s voice made his stomach sink “9...8…”

“YESSIR!” 

Mammon vaulted over the bottom half of the door, leaving a chuckling Mephistopheles in his wake. He was fuming.

“Get me in trouble with Lucifer right off the bat huh?” he muttered darkly “Just ya wait, human, by the time I’m through with ya you’ll be beggin’ Diavolo to send ya back home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got this up to date with the posts on Tumblr (I've been posting it on there as well https://thejamaicanweeb.tumblr.com/post/627591660098011136/mitosis-an-obey-me-fanfic-prologue if you want to read it there) I've decided to have fun with Mephestophiles as a character since he's basically a blank canvas (✿◠‿◠) So he'll be showing up fairly often~
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the update!


	4. Lesson 1-2 Mr. Mephistopheles, At Your Service

_Jan 6th 2020, Sunday (cont)_

Bullshit! Bullshit! All of this is bullshit!

So like, I've only been in this place for probably 6, maybe 7 hours tops an' too much foolishness a gwaan an' mi cyaan manage. Cho! _[Too much bull is going on and I cannot manage. Damnit!]._ Just some Cliff Notes from whatever the hell that orientation was. 

  1. Apparently, Lucifer and Satan are two different people? Is Diavolo the Devil?? The Devil and Satan and Lucifer are all different people??? (Note to self: If I survive this, watch mi guh cuss out di people dem who did teach me inna Sunday Skool 'cause dem neva tell me 'bout dis, kmt) [I’m going to cuss my Sunday School teachers out because they never taught me anything about this crap]
  2. The seven deadly sins? Yeah, it’s not just an anime.
  3. I'm being watched over by an idiot who's already gotten on my last nerve. Actually, I'm pissed at me and I'm pissed at him because it's his fault I'm pissed at myself. I'm so disappointed in myself; I'm not even sure I want to write it down.
  4. The other "human" apparently has powers, which is honestly just injustice. You mean to tell me you have a frikin' wizard or some crap here and then you bring my regular ass, powerless ass self among all this supernatural bullcrap when quite honestly if it wasn't for modern medicine natural selection could take me out with dust or pollen.
  5. I'm really not dreaming. These people are really demons. They look human but you can tell something's different. I mean, their eyes are a dead giveaway for one. No normal human has ombre gradient rainbow eyes (at least not as far as I know). But there's something more than that. They are...flawless. Relax, I'm not about to go waxing poetic about how attractive they are (Although they are.) If I'm being honest, I've never been another set of more attractive individuals in my entire life and I don't think I'll meet anyone who could hold a candle to them. Like on a real level, damn. But that's what throws you off because you're watching them and everything is perfect. You look for flaws but there's nothing you can discern and that's what sets off the alarm bells.



They are gorgeous and polite (for the most part) and poised and appealing in a way I have never encountered before. 

I wanted to run away screaming.

Then I met Mammon. Freakin' Mammon. Where do I start with Mammon?

I had just responded to Diavolo's message when the heavy wooden double doors flung open with a bang. I started, fumbled and just managed to keep a hold of my new mobile.

"Yo!" I yelled, pissed as I tried to calm down my racing heart. Lucifer shot me a surprised look but I ignored him.

I know what you're thinking; 'Sinai, it's just a loud noise, aren't you overreacting?' Let me tell you a little bit about my luck with technology then you might get where I'm coming from.

I suck at keeping my hardware and devices intact. My baby brother has literally told me that I'm the Electronic Graveyard: Where good devices pass before their time. At home, if the screen isn't cracked then it's not mine. What can I say, I'm cursed. That being said, I was just about ready to throw hands at whoever spooked me enough for me to nearly destroy a new device within less than an hour (that would be a new record).

So why didn't I verbally rip this asshole a new one?

Because...ugh this is pathetic...I pulled an Anna move. You remember Frozen? You remember what happened when Anna left the palace for the first time?

I know. I know, stop judging me. I honestly don't know what happened. I love Disney but I have never, ever subscribed to their example for romance. So I have no idea how this happened.

Sizing him up, he was a good couple inches taller than me, (All dat too, they are all taller than me. This is bullshit.). His frame was a bit narrower than some of his brothers and his skin was probably two shades lighter than mine. Messy silver-white hair fell over his forehead drawing my attention to his eyes. _Woah_. Brilliant, deep ultramarine blue with vivid gold lighting up the bottom of his irises. His uniform was an absolute mess but it suited him. I felt like I had gotten sucker-punched in the gut. Breathless, dizzy and dazed. I never felt like that before. 

Then he opened his mouth

"HEY! Just **who** do you think you are, human? You've got a lotta nerve summoning the **Great Mammon!** " 

_...Is this ass for real?_

I was dumbfounded. The only thing I could do was laugh 'cause God kno if mi neva laugh, mi woulda start g'waan bad. But was he done? Oh no. _[Lord knows if I didn’t laugh I was going to cause a damn scene]_

His eyes narrowed into slits and he stormed towards me, getting up in my face and glowering as if I was the one responsible for every single trial and tribulation in his life. I levelled a glare of my own at him, crossing my arms and widening my stance slightly. It was only the niggling fact that he was, in fact, a demon - with powers and shit- that was stopping me from doing anything stupid. The most annoying part was that having this obnoxious loudmouth this close made me feel...strange. There was this weird dragging sensation somewhere around and below my navel that reminded me of when gravity takes hold when you drop from somewhere high. I felt my face heat up and I hoped that if it was noticeable, everyone would just think I was mad. I **_was_ ** mad.

"Listen up, because I'm only gonna say this once," he growled "If you value your life, then you'll hand over all your money now! And anything else of value too!"

"Get outta mi face yuh damn eediat!" I snapped, at the end of my tolerance for his tomfoolery. 

Surprise, then his face darkened. His mouth lifted into a slight snarl. My heart sank as I realized my mistake. A split second later, he was clawing at the neck of his uniform as Lucifer dragged him back by the collar, berating him. I watched them bicker, my heart just barely slowing down. It was oddly reassuring to see that no matter where I was, the age-old constant that siblings got on each other's last nerves applied. As the other brothers began to start speaking too I squinted at them. No, I hadn't just been seeing things. It was like they carried this aura around them, like heat on an asphalt road. _Can things get any weirder? Actually no, please don't let things get any weirder._ I listened as the burden of "babysitting" me was passed around. All too abruptly, I was reminded of what my position truly was in this place. 

My very soul could be in danger. This thing, my lifeforce, my existence of a single, unique individual was a damned delicacy here. I was at the bottom of the food chain. These guys, these demons were the perfect predators for humans, alluring and deadly. If I wanted to survive I needed to stay under the radar as much as I could.

At that moment, something Lucifer said came to mind, unbidden.

_Demons liked pure souls huh?_

I've spent my whole life doing what was expected of me. Upbringing, creed, religion or lack thereof, "Don't be a dick" was the general rule. But now...now if I wasn't strong enough, then I might have no choice but to sully myself (or at the very least be able to look like I have been) to survive in the Devildom. Hopefully, it won't cause my eternal damnation or something like that, that would suck. 

I felt my skin prickle. When I tore my attention away from the ongoing custody battle to see Diavolo watching me.

"Are you alright?" he mouthed. I wanted to scream _What the hell do you think?!_ but refrained from doing so. After all, through all of this so far, he's been nothing but diplomatic and empathetic. I took one last peek at the arguing siblings then slowly made my way towards him.

"Excuse me, sir, did you happen to see a drawstring bag when you carried me down here?"

"Oh yes! What happened, do you need it?"

"Yes," Now that I wasn't actively panicked I could feel exactly how bad things were getting. _Shoot! Shoot! How long has it been? Did I miss my last Seritide dose?_ Based on how I was breathing I must have.

"I need it urgently."

_**~S T A G E C H A N G E~** _

Diavolo stole a glance at the human following just behind him. While she didn't seem angry or afraid, she was still obviously distressed. Her mouth was half-open, her nostrils were flared and - if he wasn't mistaken - there was a high pitched, almost musical sound with every breath she let out. _Maybe this is a quirk of hers. I ought to ask her about it afterwards._ He opened a door on the left-hand side of the corridor they were walking down and allowed her to walk in first. The young woman made a beeline for the leather loveseat with the careworn bag sitting right in the middle. Diavolo watched as she fumbled with the bag, before accidentally dropping it. With a quiet curse, she took it back up and sat down rather hard on the seat.

His curiosity began to shift to concern as he watched her dig through the bag's contents frantically, finally producing a rigid plastic tube with a mask on one end. He sat beside her and held the bag as she continued looking.

"Thank you," she gasped, taking out a blue L shaped tube with a metal canister inside. Without further ado, she shook up the smaller tube, placed it into the end of the first tube that didn't have the mask on it and jammed the whole setup over her mouth and nose so forcefully the Prince of the Devildom winced. 

_She can't breathe._ The thought finally clicked when the door creaked open.

Lucifer stepped inside, his eyes widening at the sight that met him. Diavolo had his hand on the exchange student's back. The young woman in question was leaning forward one arm outstretched with the elbow locked while the other hand was holding up something to her face. Her chest was heaving as though she had just run a mile and the muscles were standing out in her neck. 

"What's goin' on? What's with her?" Mammon called. He and his brothers had followed Lucifer and were now peering over each other's shoulders at the human with everything from mild curiosity, to apprehension to indifference. Meanwhile, Sinai had switched to a smaller orange coloured inhaler. Satan stepped towards her and crouched beside her. Sinai leaned back ever so slightly, her eyes round and sweat beading on her forehead. 

"May I?" he asked, gesturing to the first inhaler. She nodded and handed it to him before removing the spacer from her face and collapsing back against the couch, spent.

Satan frowned slightly at the medication before looking back and forth between Lucifer and Diavolo.

"Why didn't you tell us she was asthmatic?" 

* * *

The familiar exhaustion made me feel like I was being dragged down into the seat I was on. Breathing took everything out of me, I could only manage a deep breath every five, six seconds. Believe it or not, I was getting better at this point, I could feel my airways opening up and everything. But having to breathe so hard and so fast and using all your chest and shoulder muscles just to be able to overcome the resistance... I let out a long sigh.

"Do you have any idea how serious it is?" I heard Diavolo ask "Does she need to be admitted?"

I shot upright, maybe too quickly but all I could imagine was the sheer panic my parents would be in when they called and saw me in a hospital.

"I'm fine!" I gasped, before falling into a coughing fit. 

They all looked at me dubiously. 

"Ok, well I mean I will be, honest! I'm barely wheezing anymore just...just please don't make a fuss 'bout it. Please?"

"Sinai,"

I turned to face Diavolo.

"You are our responsibility; _my responsibility_ while you're here," he said earnestly, staring at me. "I insist if there is anything wrong..."

I shook my head so hard, I felt my twists fanning out around my head. 

"With all due respect sir, I've had this condition for more than two decades," I said quietly "I promise that the moment I feel like it's beyond my capacity to control, I will say something, I swear."

"... Very well"

I started looking in my bag again for the other thing I was looking for. _I know I packed one. Where is it...?_

"Ah!" I raised the Oreos over my head. 

I got up a little unsteadily and cautiously made my way over to the brothers and stopped in front of Beelzebub, feeling all their eyes on me. I have never felt really dwarfed by anyone in my life but now I felt practically minuscule. I'm not sure I liked it too much but hey, what can a girl do? 

"It's not a whole lot, but here," I said, pressing the cookies in his hand. 

He looked down at the packet, then at me before giving me a smile. All at once, he shifted from someone who I was a little apprehensive about to someone whose face I want to smoosh between my hands. Up close I could see his eyes had a wide innocent expression which made me feel kinda warm. I couldn't help but smile back. 

"I- I heard you say that you were hungry," I explained, "My metabolism is non-existent so I'll be fine."

"Thank you," he responded sincerely

" I got you fam, I hate being hungry too, it sucks." 

In the time it took for me to sit back down the snack had vanished. _Shoot, that was fast! What did he even do with the wrapper? Damn._ A low pitched loud rumbling started up. I looked around trying to locate the source, my eyes finally landing once again on Beelzebub. _I-Is that his stomach?_ I remembered what they were saying earlier, about there being a chance that he might eat me. I resolved to ensure I always had something, even a little snack on my person for him at all times. Movement close to the door caught my attention. _Mammon._ I narrowed my eyes. He was soundlessly inching his way towards the exit.

Lucifer's arm shot out to grab his shoulder so damn fast I jumped too. With a smile that made me cold deep in the pit of my stomach, the Avatar of Pride pulled his younger brother back into the room.

"I know you're very eager to show Sinai where to collect her uniforms and orientation package but don't forget to **take her with you.** "

"Yessir!"

Lucifer then turned towards me.

"Sinai, make sure you stay by his side. As incompetent as he is, he'll protect you. We will see you after you have things sorted out at the House of Lamentation."

"Sure thing," 

I waved goodbye as they left and collapsed back in the chair "Well Sinai, let's make this a year to remember." I thought aloud, resisting the urge to kneed my eyes with my knuckles. _Don't make your racoon eyes worse, girl._

With everything packed up I stood up and swung the bag straps over my shoulders. Mammon was still seething, stalking back and forth like a tiger in a cage occasionally glowering at me. _Yo, this boy already gettin' on my last nerve. Lord grant me the patience._ I didn't want to get eaten though so I figured I could take the first step. I've diffused a bunch of tense situations before, this shouldn't be that bad. 

"Hey, Mammon; I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot h-"

He wasn't there anymore. I had only crouched down for a few seconds to tie my laces. I looked around confused and frustrated. A few moments later a familiar tanned face poked back through the doors.

"Hurry up will ya? I ain't stopping for you if ya can't keep up and if you go missin' that's your problem."

So much for diplomacy.

"Ketchya! Listen y- wait for me nuh man! Cho!" 

I wish I had the lung capacity to keep up with him and give him a piece of my mind. As it was I was already starting to wheeze again. I kept up the pace for another few seconds but I had to stop. My ribs felt like they were replaced with a lead cage that was constricting inch by inch. I glared at the back of his head, taking my meds out of my bag once again. Annoying bastard didn't even notice I had stopped and was a good twenty or so feet away.

"Screw you too, ya ass." I hissed at his retreating back before taking a dose.

* * *

"Un-freaking-believable. These bastards always gang up on me like this! The hell do I gotta watch her?" Mammon fumed, taking out his DDD and scrolling down his contact list.

" 'Phis? Ya still here?"

"Yeah, wassup?"

"Good, I'm comin' now."

"Huh? How come?"

"I'll tell you when I get there. These guys are assholes and now I got to watch this thing, and it's already cramping my style." 

He glanced back, did a double-take, then swore.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he groaned

"What happened? Did you lose it already? " said the voice on the other end, trying very hard not to laugh

"Damnit whose side are you on here?" Mammon felt a twinge of anxiety. "This is the kinda bull I was talkin' about. Now I gotta waste my time trying to find her or Lucifer's going to kill me."

"Oh, 'her'?"

The demon's face crumpled in disgust at what his friend was insinuating.

"Ugh, you're gonna make me hurl. Trust me, it's nothin' like that. It will never be anythin' like that."

"Hey man, take it easy. Just go find whatever, well, whoever you're looking for. I'll be there."

"Thanks."

He caught sight of Sinai standing in the middle of the corridor, holding the weird-looking mask tube thing to her face again. The most minuscule fragment of guilt jabbed at him. 

"Why didn't ya tell me to stop?"

She took the spacer away from her face long enough to retort:

"Mi did tell yuh fi wait. Yuh neva wait."

The guilt was gone.

"Yeah, well... how do ya expect me to listen to ya when I can't even understand? I mean, the official language down here is Latin but ya don't see me trying to talk to you usin' it."

Much to his bewilderment, the belligerent expression on her face transformed into that of wide-eyed curiosity.

"Ooooh really? Are you serious? That's so cool? Is that a course on it here? Would I be taking it? Do know-mph"

Mammon sighed exasperatedly as the human struggled to move the hand that was covering her mouth. He ignored her muffled indignation and set off in the direction they were going originally, his other hand on her shoulder. 

"C'mon," he said flatly "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get back to my life." 

At this point, Sinai had finally managed to pop her head out from behind his hand and turned to glare at him.

"Do that again and Imma fight!" she declared. Her face was hot with embarrassment. 

Mammon stopped walking, not believing his ears.

"You're going to fight me? Really?" he asked, staring at her. 

She was only about five and a half feet tall with small feet and hands which were currently balled into fists. Her clothes were big and unflattering and with a face that seemed more inclined to smiling as opposed to the glare she was giving him. It was kind of adorable how she was clearly trying to be intimidating, but it was impossible to take her seriously.

"I'm shakin' in my boots, now hurry up."

"I'm serious damnit!"

"A duckling with a switchblade would be more threatening than you."

"Listen here you-"

The bickering continued for a good while after that, setting the foundation for the majority of their future interactions.

_**~S T A G E C H A N G E~** _

Mammon’s hands remained on my shoulders, steering me around one corner then down another passageway, the speed he was going at nearly causing me to stumble. 

“Could you slow down? Where are we even going?”

I heard him sigh, exasperated we cut across yet another courtyard

“You heard Lucifer, we need to get your crap,” he said shortly

“You know damn well what I mean,” I grumbled but didn’t press it any further. I’d find out, eventually.

Despite being manhandled, I got to take in my surroundings some. As bizarre as it may sound I felt excitement bubbling up in my gut The Academy was easily the most grandiose place I have been to in my life. I could easily see myself getting lost without three maps and a compass. It’s a legitimate *castle* bruh, that’s insane. Massive stone walls, courtyards and little tucked away alcoves, plants and trees that looked like they came directly out of a fantasy realm with leaves that wave without wind and tiny slowly blinking lights. And then there was the moon looming overhead, much nearer, brighter and clearer than it has ever been. 

Eventually, Mammon led me to a weathered-looking door. It was split in two horizontally with a small wooden counter jutting out just above the lower half. Mammon ducked from behind me and began banging on the top half of the door so hard I jumped. I glowered at his back as he started yelling:

"I know you're in there ya asshole!" 

_My dude are you just this rude to everyone?!_

I was shook until I saw the jackass was grinning. A bolt slid back on the other side. As soon as the door swung open (I'm sorry to say) I screamed, and ducked down slightly. My fists had already flown up to my chest.

The demon behind the counter stared at me, his eyebrows nearly meeting his hairline. He and Mammon exchanged a glance before the two demons burst out laughing. I felt my face burning as I hastily straightened up. I avoided their eyes while I twisted the hem of my T-shirt in my hands. I mean, don't get me wrong I knew that the chances of regaining my dignity were non-existent but a girl gotta try. 

"That was freakin' hilarious. How'd you always manage to find these kinds of humans, man ?" the stranger finally gasped, wiping tears from his eyes. My so-called caretaker was still hanging over the lower half of the door for support. 

"Anyways," he continued, narrowing his eyes at me slightly. In combination with his smirk it made his whole expression kinda predatory. "what's up, you don't normally share your meals,"

Now I was kinda thinking my initial reaction was warranted. The other demon stared me down until he gave me a slow wink. A slow toothy grin graced his face showing off dimples. I narrowed my eyes at him for a few seconds but I couldn't help but smile back. 

"I'm guessing you're the reason this one got chewed out by Mr Morningstar huh?" Mammon stopped laughing immediately, glowered at him and aimed a half-hearted swipe at the guy. 

"Mussi suh, yeah," _[Probably/Must be]_ I conceded. My hands shifted into my pockets.

"You can come closer, you know, I won't bite," he added. 

He probably noticed that I was still hanging back. I shook my head slightly. Without warning, I lost my balance. I shrieked, pinwheeled and only just managed to keep from face planting. The roar of laughter behind me told me exactly how that happened. I whirled around. Yup, the blue-eyed bastard was doubled over laughing with his hands wrapped around his middle. I was pissed. Pissed at him, pissed I was dragged here under false pretences and *EXTREMELY* pissed that that weird feeling in my stomach reappeared.

"MAMMON YUH DAMN EEDIAT AH WAH DO YUH?!"  
_[MAMMON YOU DAMN IDIOT WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!]_

Now I know I couldn't catch him, and my lungs were busted but a girl’s gonna reach her boiling point eventually. I ran at him only for a pair of muscular arms to wrap around me from behind. 

"Woah, Take it easy there firecracker," I froze up. The demon from behind the door was holding me laughing softly. 

"I know he's a scrawny one but he still has powers," His stage whisper reached Mammon who smirked at him.

"Willin' to put ya money where ya mouth is, Phis?" he challenged 

Clearly deciding I was no longer about to rip the Avatar of Tomfoolery a new one, Phis let me go before turning to face Mammon with his arms outstretched. Y'all before I had a chance to blink these idiots are grappling. Mammon had Phis in a headlock while Phis had his arms around Mammon's torso. They were laughing their heads off and quite honestly I was on the verge of busting out too. _Well, haven't my moods been swinging since I got here? This place gonna mad me. [This place is going to drive me insane]_

"YO!"

They stopped, comically freezing in mid position. 

"Wasn't I here to get supplies?" I asked, hands on my hips.

"Oh yeah," Phis said, disentangling himself from Mammon. He sauntered over and extended a hand "Name's Mephestophiles by the way,"

"Ok Mephestophiles," I said, my hands outstretched. He cocked his head at me. I mirrored him and gave him a crooked smile. He grinned and took the hint and his arms wrapped around me in greeting.

"Ah, you're a hugger huh?" he commented as we broke apart.

"Under normal circumstances yeah," I admitted. "or at least when I make an early judgement call."

He raised his eyebrows. I could see his tongue in his cheek as he smirked.

"I guess I should take that as a compliment then?" he questioned. I nodded.

He was right, I did like him. Seemed like a chill guy and the atmosphere didn't feel as formal and tense as it did in the Student Council Room. Heck, I woulda given Diavolo a hug if it didn't feel inappropriate considering he's a monarch and all that. Maybe even Beelzebub if I was sure he wouldn't eat me.

"I've heard of you before you know," I said conversationally as he and I walked towards the student store. 

"Oh?"

"Yeah in a theory video, from Faust right?"

Mephistopheles grinned and reached up to swing an arm around my shoulder. 

"Hey Mammon, I'll take her off your hands! She's cool!" 

Mammon appeared by my other side looking kinda peeved, but not at me for once.

"Like hell ya are," he growled lifting Mephistopheles' arm off. I glared at him and put it back. No way I'm lettin' him get in a fight with one of the first people that has just been treating me like normal. 

"I might just take you up on that bruh," I stared Mammon down even though I was addressing Phis. He narrowed his eyes at me. I did the same. _Bwoy mussi tink seh mi a ramp wid him. [This boy must think I’m playing with him]_

"Yeah right. I'd like to see ya say that to Lucifer," he challenged. 

"Ooh, he does have a point there," Phis conceded 

Stick a pin, guys, just realise I shoulda cleared something up. Seems kinda weird how I panicked seeing Mephistophiles for the first time don't it? He wasn't the first demon I've seen after all. See, thing was Phis was in what I would learn was his true form; his demon form. What did that mean for him?

It meant two immense water buffalo horns extending about a foot from either temple. It meant inky solid black eyes, I mean irises, sclera and all. It meant having a shirtless, heavily muscled, human torso and arms but having the bottom half of a bull. I'm talking minotaur style people; loincloth, hooves and all. _Wild._

So yah can understand, I was a likkle shook, you know?

I'm not gonna lie, I kept sneaking glances at him. I had so many questions but I didn't know how to ask them. One of the times I glanced away I met Mammon's eyes. The now-familiar glare was there but there was something else that I couldn't place. 

"Stop showin' off ya jerk, why are you even in your demon form in the first place, huh?" he asked Phis, his tone accusatory (and a bit whiny tbh.)

"I just felt like it, jeez," Mephistopheles raised his hands in surrender, unfazed.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then there was chanting, just above a whisper but his lips were still. Goosebumps broke out up and down my arms as a static hum filled the atmosphere. The darkness of his eyes condensed to narrow, cat-like pupils surrounded by silver irises. The horns retracted along with the swirling tattoos that seemed to originate from the bases, leaving his smooth dark skin unblemished. The sound of bone grinding against bone and ligaments snapping made me feel a bit queasy as his legs reversed direction and stretched and morphed into human legs. The transformation finished with Mephistopheles standing a few inches taller than me, maybe 2 or 3, looking all the world like someone I'd just buck up on at school. Wild.

"Ta-da!" he gave an exaggerated bow. I clapped as Mammon rolled his eyes and pushed the two of us through the door.

"Yeah, that was thrilling, will you guys hurry it up?"

"Ugh, is he always like this?" I muttered out the corner of my mouth. 

Mephistopheles shook his head. His expression was thoughtful.

"Nah. Maybe dealing with Lucifer put him on edge," he shrugged.

I looked around, and my jaw dropped. I dunno what kind of obeah _[Caribbean/Jamaican witchcraft]_ these people worked but I was looking at a department store sized place in a space that it should not have been able to exist in. Come like the Room of Requirement smh _[Come like-It was like...]_. Clean white tiles and air conditioning and fluorescent bulbs with shelves and shelves of RAD merchandise and supplies. I'm talking notebooks, pencils, jackets. Then there were some weird things like these skull paperweights and watches and...bullhorns? Nail polish?? 

_What Even Is This School?!_

After walking for a bit Phis and I came upon rows and rows of uniforms with a range of sizes that would put any brand or company to shame. Humans gotta step it up fam, like deeven talk to me if you don't have uniform sizes ranging from finger puppet to Ant Man's giant size, ok? And you better have extra wing holes and armholes and tail holes and pockets. Talk about inclusivity.

"Just pick what you want," Phis said with a careless wave of his hand. "Lord Dia isn't uptight about customizations."

"Bruh." 

Half an hour later I was waving Phis goodbye and following Mammon out the school gates. Of course, I was carrying everything. I didn't mind but it made me slower than I already was. Which of course cramped the Avatar of Tomfoolery's style. After having to wait for me to catch up with him for the 5th or so time he grabbed the heavily laden backpack from me. I felt him glowering at me as we continued for a while, until finally:

"What the hell was that?"

"Huh?" 

We had been walking in silence for so long I was shocked when he actually addressed me. 

"Back there. With Mephistopheles. That whole 'I'm so scared an' quiet an' respectful' act dropped pretty quick, didn't it?"

"Excuse me?"

"Don't act dumb, you know exactly what I'm talkin' about."

I looked at him and laughed out of sheer disbelief. 

"Wow, it's almost like I change the way I act based on what I deem appropriate for the situation! What a novel concept!”

I gasped, covered my mouth with my hands and let my eyes go wide before I rolled my eyes and kept walking. 

“ Yuh mean to tell mi seh you expect me to just up and hug a prince? Your brothers don't seem like huggers and you hate me. Phis was friendly so I was friendly back."

He stopped short and stared at me.

"When did I say that I hate you?"

"Your actions said it loud and clear," I responded flatly.

He was quiet for a moment before mumbling

“And Phis is my nickname for him, get your own.” 

_Jeez you sound like a kindergartener who just had to get the last word in._

We continued the rest of the way in silence, only for the bastard to use me as a sacrifice to the Avatar of Envy as we stepped into the entrance hall of the House of Lamentation.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so this took way too long to get up (I understand if everyone's left lel) so I'm gonna do a double update. Some things in my life are in shambles rn so I'm working on it as best as I can! Thanks for reading! I appreciate it!


	5. Lesson 1-3 To The Library!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just tying up some loose ends before the first day of school!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just discovered world-building and I'm havin' the time of my life <3

Leviathan dragged the bewildered human inside his room, an abundance of caution (or possibly paranoia?) making him glance around to ensure they weren't seen or followed. He let out a sigh of relief, shut the door and leaned against it, his eyes shut. When he opened his eyes, she was staring at him with his head tilted to the side, standing much too close for his comfort

"What?" 

"Nothin' fam," she said, taking a step back. Leviathan had already launched into a defensive tirade.

"Imagine what would happen if someone saw me inviting you into my room! A human who doesn't even look like an otaku, but a normie! You know what people would say, right?!"

The 'normie' in question crossed her arms, widened her stance and narrowed her eyes. The expression was eerily familiar. Leviathan unconsciously leaned back, the back of his head hitting the door.

"First of I have a name, how about you try using it for a change? Jeez! Human this, Normie that, y'all like labels dontchya?" she remarked.

"H-Hold on," he protested weakly

"And I'm _sorry_ , I didn't know there was a standard I had to meet to qualify as an otaku,"

"I never said-"

"Lemme just dig into the disposable income my family doesn't have to buy figurines and and and posters and cosplay we can't afford instead of tryna get an education fi get a likkle work suh mi can support miself!" 

Although she never raised her voice, her words ran into each other and her face grew more animated the longer she went on for. If he couldn't read her lips he wouldn't have been able to follow. Even reading her lips he could barely keep up. At this point, his mouth was just hanging open with no words leaving. In the quiet, the human's glare softened. She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I'm sorry, that was uncalled for," she mumbled. Much to his surprise, she was blushing, covering the lower half of her face. Leviathan relaxed marginally but still stared, wary, prepared to curse her if necessary. 

"I know it's not an excuse, but today has been kinda weird...and that's kinda a sore point for me...I'm sorry," she said again. She met his eyes again, staring up at him from under her eyelashes. Clearly she was waiting for his response. _Weird normie. Quit staring at me like that._ To his horror, he felt himself flushing under her scrutiny. 

"Y-yeah well, just keep it down, alright?" he finally managed. 

"Okie," she said, nodding. She started looking around the room and began to wander off.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

She was staring up at a colourful poster with four inmates jumping from a high wall on it. She whirled around abruptly, making him jump. He glowered at her. 

"Don't do that!" he protested. The human paid him no mind. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet, smiling so widely her eyes were practically shut.

"Nanbaka! You read Nanbaka?!"

"Um yeah?" he said slowly. The response triggered a flurry of questions.

"Are you serious? Yes! Like I haven't met anyone IRL who knew about it before I told them about it. When do you think they're gonna animate Season 3? Who's your favourite character? I relate to Nico cause I get sick a lot too and I gotta carry around a bag with all my medicines but Rock is my husband tbh. What do you think of the latest arc? I wish Jyuugo would let the others in... as in ok I get that he's protecting them but its so frustrating!"

Dazed, Leviathan vaguely wondered if this was how his brothers felt when he was introducing them to a new fandom. In any case, he wasn't buying this normie's "fangirl" act for a second. Sure, she could be a fan of of the anime but more than likely she was just a casual one. Casual fans got on his nerves, they could never remember the finer details that true fans could recall with ease. He was willing to bet his limited edition Halloween Ruri-chan figurine that the human couldn't tell him the correct panel, page and chapter the shackles first got activated in the New Year's arc. 

Feeling more self-assured in his knowledge he prepared to grill her on *everything* about the manga only to find her staring at his TSL collection, mouthing the titles as her eyes scanned the volumes.

"Are you a fan too!?" he blurted out. If she was then he might just have to reconsider his opinion of her.

She shook her head and shrugged 

"It's on my list, I read the Harrison Porter series though," she admitted. 

"...Excuse me? You picked _**Harrison Porter**_ over _**TSL**_!? Just how clueless are you?"

The human raised a finger

"Hey, don't come for my boy Harrison," she said bracingly. 

Leviathan ignored her completely and set about 'educating' the woefully ignorant normie.

**_~S T A G E C H A N G E~_ **

I listened to Leviathan for a long long time. I had planned to look over my new books and syllabus but according to my DDD it had been an hour so far, and he wasn't slowing down. Oh well, suh life guh. I was fighting to keep a smile off my face. I didn't want him to think that I was laughing at him. It was just nice to watch someone talk about something they were really into. There was one thing that kept coming to mind though.

Either I'm overthinkin' this or these Lords are like these guys.

I toyed with the idea of pointing it out to him but I figured a mega-fan like him had already seen the parallels. 

"Anyways" he finally said "I didn't bring you here to tell you about TS... What are you doing on the floor?"

"My legs got tired. I don't mind if you still wanna talk about it more, my ears are open."

His face lit up for a minute before he shook his head and glowered at me.

"Ha ha, nice try human. You won't get on my good side with any of your normie tricks." he broke eye contact and trained his gaze on his feet. 

"Besides, who would want to listen to some dumb otaku ramble anyway?" he mumbled

"Don't say that," I protested, trying to meet his eyes again "Why are you being so mean to yourself fam?

He just continued talking. I sighed. I was getting real tired of being talked over; I'm not gonna lie. Leviathan leaned back in his gaming chair and looked down at me over steepled fingers. I cocked my head to the side.

"I don't think there's any harm in just coming out and saying what you already know is true." he started.

"Which is...?"

"Ugh, do I have to spell out everything?"

_ Why these people so gaddamn rude, gosh?  _

"Mammon is a complete and utter scumbag."

I jerked back blinking. Such hurtful words so casually. When Mammon had told me they took every opportunity dump on him he was joking. Apparently he was right. 

"Hey, isn't that’s a bit harsh?"

Ignored again.

_ I swear to JAH next time this boy ignores me, imma throw my shoe at him. Fight me, B. Fight me. _

My headache was back by the time Leviathan let me leave. I was stressed. This whole pact thing sounds a little suspect. To be honest it sounded a whole lot like some form of slavery and for several reasons I was against this idea. That aside, I was in another predicament altogether. Mammon failed to tell me where my room was exactly. Nor did he tell me the wifi password. I knocked on Leviathan’s door.

“Who is it?”

“Sinai! Listen do you know where my room is?”

Silence

“Well, thanks I guess,” I mumbled.

I heard someone call my name.

* * *

The human looked to her left to see Satan walking towards her. He was no longer in his uniform. Instead, he was wearing a light green sweater with teal pants and a navy blue blazer. All at once, Sinai felt self-conscious in her jeans, T-shirt and sneakers.

“I just messaged you,” Satan said and he drew nearer. “Didn’t you see it?”

“No, I’m sorry,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Wait, don’t tell me. Mammon didn’t give you the wifi password, did he?” 

She shook her head. Satan sighed, shaking his head.

“Of course not. Listen, I’m going into town, would you like to accompany me? I could show you around if you’d like.”

She smiled shyly and ducked her head.

“Sure. Thank you, I’d appreciate that.”

Soon they were outside the wrought iron gates of the House of Lamentation, strolling down the cobblestones streets. After a minute or two, Sinai’s anxiety made her break the silence.

“So um… Mr. Satan? Is it just that the sun never rises here?” she ventured.

“No, not at all I’m afraid. And you can just call me Satan.” he answered, chuckling.

“What’s so funny?”

“You.”

Sani frowned at him, her lower lip pooched out. Satan smiled and shook his head.

“Relax, I’m not mocking you. I mean you seem so bashful now but before you were ready to pick a fight with a demon just a few hours earlier.”

“What? What are you- ack!” 

Sinai stumbled over the uneven ground. She grabbed Satan’s outstretched hand and thanked him. 

“With Mammon,” he clarified once he was certain she was stable. 

Immediately he sensed her level of irritation rise even before she actually rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth. 

“I’m sorry, I swear I don’t get mad easy-”

“-oh, I know-”

“But I nah guh tek any attitude from nuh baddy. Like bruh, what’s his problem? ‘Ow yuh fi act suh when is the first time you meeting some- wait, hol’ up. What do you mean ‘you know?’ ”

“It’s really interesting the way you code switch within the same sentence by the way.” he said, deliberately ignoring her question

“Satan? What did you mean ‘you know’? Did you guys watch me before I came down here?” she asked again, pressing her lips tightly together and pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. Satan tucked a hand under his chin as he thought. 

“Now how do I put this?” he began. Sinai leaned in a bit closer. The further into the town they went the more demons were out and about on the streets and the more glances they were getting. She wondered if they could tell she was human just by looking.

“Everyone has their own vices, their weaknesses,” he said carefully. 

“As avatars of these sins, we can tell when a person is about, is giving into or has given into the sin we represent. The more a person indulges in the sin; the more ‘familiar’ they are to us in a manner of speaking.

Sinai’s eyes went wide as she pressed her right index finger against her lips.

“So say for example,” she said slowly “I eat a lot, more than I really should, more than I need to… cause I do that so often…”

Satan nodded and confirmed her suspicions

“Beel probably knows you the best. I do have to warn you though, the more familiar a demon is with you the easier it is for them to tempt you, And the temptation that will be the hardest to resist will be the sin they represent.”

“Great” she groaned melodramatically, throwing her hands in the air. “I get dragged to Heck and my eternal torment may be to eat myself to death.”

Satan snickered, gently guiding her around the light post she was about to walk into.

“Watch out. Look on the bright side; knowing Beel he might eat you before that happens.”

She struggled to keep a frown on her face but ended up laughing along with him.

“Bruh. That’s kinda embarrassing though. You mean any time I get a bit mad, you can tell?”

“Well yes, but considering I had no idea who you are, I don’t think I’d get to know you that way any time soon. You have a good grip on your temper, clearly.”

He caught her smiling to herself in the corner of his vision.

“I have to admit, I am pretty well acquainted to some members of your family.”

Sinai flinched ever so slightly, her normally golden brown complexion growing ashen. She hung her head as she muttered: “Yeah, I’d bet.”

After a few seconds, she shook herself out of the gloom and began looking around, her eyes wide with curiosity. 

“Oh! Something smells good!” she cried, whipping her head around and sniffing for the source.

“That would be Hell’s Kitchen-”

“Oh wow what’s that?”

“Majolish, It’s a clothing store.”

A motorcycle drove past the street corner they were standing on.

“That’s more than likely one of Akuzon’s delivery persons,” he said, anticipating her next question.

Sinai gasped suddenly and grabbed onto his sleeve. Satan leaned away from her slightly irked.

“What’s wrong?”

“Is there a bookstore?” she blurted out, bouncing on the balls of her feet. 

Satan blinked at her before laughing and giving her a genuine smile.

“So you’re a reader too huh?”

“Yeah, I like to read, I write a bit too sometimes. I’m pretty indiscriminate with what I read, to be honest: novels, manga, magazines, poems, plays… anyways, is there a bookstore?”

“I can do you one better. Let me show you the library. Did you know that if you are a RAD student your ID doubles as your library card?”

“Wild!”

_**~S T A G E C H A N G E~** _

I think I may have misjudged this place, guys.

Alright, I may be a bit biased cause holy frikin’ crap the library was incredible! It was huge and smelled like old wood and paper and knowledge and imagination. 

Forget the house of Lamentation

Imma live here now.

The shelves seemed to stretch on forever and the building itself had three layers. There was a motley collection of chairs and tables. I’m talking everything from regular old wooden chairs and tables to beanbags and blankets spread on the floor. At some point I coulda sworn that I saw someone dragging an air mattress behind them with their tail.

In the very center of the ground floor there was a huge circular reading area with a massive fire burning in the middle. The mesmerizing purple and orange-gold flames didn’t make any smoke. (thankfully) Instead, they created green sparks which (somehow) didn’t catch anything ablaze. It’s probably enchanted or some ish.

Satan stopped walking and turned around to face me, his arms outstretched. The glow of the flames lit him up from behind, illuminating the edges of his person. 

“So Sinai,” he said, smirking “does this meet your expectations?”

I shook my head, still trying to wrap my mind about the scale of the building.

“Bruh. Boarsblemish ain’t got nothing on this place.” 

“Ah, you’re a Harrison Porter fan I see,”

“Nuh mus’? That series is bae honestly.”

We slowly meandered our way towards the fire pit. A few people waved at Satan as we walked by.

“Well aren’t you Mr. Popular?” I commented, gently hip checking him.

“I come here a lot,” he answered. “What house are you in by the way? No wait,” 

He held his hand up. Sinai hid her smile behind a hand, tilting her head.

“Honeysett?”

“Eeyup....I’m getting strong Raptortalon and Serpentine vibes from you but I’m not sure which one wins out,” I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to decide.

He chuckles nodding his head.

“I get sorted into both to be completely honest,” he admitted. 

He watched me as I wandered over to the reference section. I might just need this for my subjects. _Shit! My subjects!_

“Oh Crap!” I explained, causing a few heads to look up. “Oh shoot I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”

“What’s wrong?” Satan asked.

“I wanted to go through the syllabus and course aims and try to make up a study timetable. I got sidetracked when I got home, ugh!”

“We’ll sort that out,” he said, business-like. “Go settle down, I’ll be right back.” 

He strode over to the Librarian desk while I plopped myself on a beanbag in the reading area. Within minutes the fire got me worn enough to shed my hoodie. I bundled it on my lap and shut my eyes, taking in the warmth and enjoying the way the beanbag gave under my weight. I let myself smile, contentment washing over me. 

A well-thumbed, medium-sized book landed on my lap. The faded gold letters spelt out “RAD” on the dark red leather cover. I recognized it from the stack I had gotten earlier. 

“Ay, the handbook,” I looked up at Satan. He nodded and crouched down beside me.

“The courses and recommended texts for each one are in there, so that’s a pretty good guideline. What’s really interesting are the electives.”

As he spoke I scanned the list.

_Zoology, Latin, Health, Diplomacy and Inter-realm relations, Hex Breaking, Possession and Rituals, Home Economics._ The list kept going and going.

“How many are we allowed to do?!” I whispered excitedly. 

He gave me a slight smile.

“Well aren’t you enthusiastic?” he commented “Anyway, most people are content to stick with one, maybe two. You have to prove you can maintain a certain standard of academic excellence before they let you take on any additional ones. Bear in mind there are sports and clubs too before you load your schedule up as well.”

“Ah zeen? Aite, let’s get planning.”

* * *

Have you ever walked into a room and managed to see the most bizarre part of the conversation? Or just something extremely concerning without context? I have, several times. Normally it's all good, you just laugh it off and continue on your merry way. Nothing I had seen before was quite like the sight that greeted Satan and me in the entrance hall.

"Sinai. Where have you been?" Lucifer asked. 

I would have answered right away but to be honest I was just a *little* distracted by the sight of my appointed guardian being hung up from the rafters by a long thick rope wrapped around him. Lucifer was holding the other end, clearly looking for a good place to tie it.

"Oh my...what are you doing?!" I spluttered watching him swing and struggle in air. His eyes were wide open and fearful. His words were muffled by the cloth that was tied between his teeth. 

"I believe I asked you a question first, Sinai. I thought we had impressed upon you the danger in wandering around the Devildom on your own."

While his voice remained low and polite, a sense of foreboding washed over me. It was The same heavy sTifling aura that I had first noticed in the assembly hall.

"I bumped into Satan while I was looking around the house," I explained, my eyes still on Mammon. _Is this safe for him?!_ "He mentioned going into town and I asked if he could show me around a bit...since he was already going.

"Oh? Is that so?" Lucifer asked me the question but his gaze was on Satan. Satan stared back an eyebrow raised. _What's with those two? Maybe I should say something._

"Mamon had already helped me so much getting my stuff together; he even carried to my room and everything. I didn't wanna disturb him again..." I trailed off and stared at my hand, picking at my nails.

"I'm sorry" I finished lamely "I just don't wanna be a bother. I promise to let you know where I go from here on out." 

Lucifer frowned and shook his head at me

"Sinai you're our guest and responsibility," he said sternly "on top of that you haven't even been here for a full day. I highly doubt anyone would could consider you a bother already."

I noted that Mammon fell silent at that statement. 

A dull thud made me start. Mammon was back on the floor flat on his back with the wind knocked out of hi. Lucifer ignored this and dragged him to his feet. 

"Help Sinai carry these to her room," he commanded gesturing to the short pile of books I had borrowed. My heart was going too fast and my chest ached with anxiety as I waited for the jackass to say something to make everything collapse. Instead, he just whined about the indignity of the situation as he begrudgingly dragged the books out of my hands. 

Mammon and I walked in silence until we were out of earshot.

"What the heck was that back there, huh?" he hissed under his breath. 

"Oh you mean saving your ass from becoming a motherfrikin' pinata? You're welcome!" I whispered back. I started getting annoyed but then what Satan said came back to me. I had to calm down. I took a deep breath in and let it out.

"Look," I said slowly and evenly "you looked like you needed help."

"I don't need any help for a human," he grumbled darkly.

"Okay, listen here you...you..."

I squinted at him. 

"W-What?" he protested turning his head

I wasn't imagining it. He was frowning with his eyes closed but his cheeks and ears were flushed. I couldn't believe it. _Oh shit,that's kinda cute._ My heart thumped a bit harder for a few beats and I felt my own face get warm. I turned to look straight ahead, neither of us acknowledging anything.

"Human? Human!"

"Huh? What?" 

He was waving a hand in front of my face.

"I'm tryna talk to ya, don't go zonin' out on me," he admonished, a hint of a whine sneaking into his voice. 

"I'm sorry, I'm kinda tired."

He side-eyed me as he opened the door to what must've been my room. 

I reeled back in shock, sniffing deeply. Mammon paused for a moment then walked past me to unceremoniously dump my books on the bed. I couldn't breathe, the knot in my throat was too big. 

"How?" I managed to croak

"What? I can't hear you," Mammon called over his shoulder.

Christmas cakes and ham baking and the smell of the cool seasonal breeze and burning candles and evergreen trees. Hot Chocolate tea with plenty nutmeg, sweet and spicy. Sorrel with ginger.

"How does this smell like Christmas at home?"

His mouth formed an 'o' as comprehension dawned on him. 

"Ah, that's normal. I mean, it's a spell Satan put on all our rooms a few centuries back. Supposed to smell of things that you like, things that comfort ya or somethin' like that."

He squinted at me and stepped closer, his expression moving from concerned to downright alarmed.

"Human? Hey! Human! Sinai! What gives?"

"What do you mean?" is what I meant to say.

The only thing that came out was a gurgle. I raised my hands to my face. It was hot and wet with tears that I didn't even realized had spilled over. More than likely there plenty of snot too. You know that kind of flawless Hollywood crying? I'm not one of those people. 

At this point Mammon was surveying me with the same apprehension one would have when confronted with a grenade with a missing pin. I turned away from him cause Jah know seh I couldn't tek no more joke at this point in time _[Lord knows I couldn't take anymore mockery at this point]_. I let the weight of my homesickness hunch me over as I covered my mouth, trying to keep the hiccoughing in. I had to stop cause after the hiccoughing would come the sobbing and that would escalate into full-on wailing and cow-bawling and nobody needs to witness that mess.

I didn't hear the footsteps but I did feel the sizeable wad of tissue that was clumsily thrust into my hands.

"Jeez, quit your blubberin' will ya? Do you wanna bring Lucifer up here?" the demon commanded, exasperated. He avoided my eyes as he pointed out the bathroom. 

"Thanks," I said thickly.

After a lot of water, tears, snot and sniffles I finally emerged. He was lying down on the bed, legs hanging off the edge of the bed and scrolling on his DDD. There was a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. He didn't look up but addressed me nonetheless

"So you're good now, right? No more waterworks?"

"Nope. I mean yep, no more tears"

_Not in front of you at least. Way to keep your barriers up Sinai._

"Thank you, Mammon." I said quietly. His head snapped to the side to stare at me, his blue-gold eyes wide.

"For what?"

He edged away slightly as I sat beside him on the bed. I let out a sad choked attempt at a laugh.

"Where you running to, I ain't gonna bite,"

"Who said I was runnin'?" he countered, still edging away ever so slightly.

"I mean thank you for the tissue. Getting my stuff with me. You were forced into watching me, you know? so I-"

He cut me off, waving my words away.

"It's about time you showed some gratitude... and I guess you did get me outta hot water with Lucifer so we're even." he said grudgingly. He got up with a grunt, not even bothering to look up from his damned DDD.

I felt my mouth drop open and the tears starting to prickle at the corner of my eyes again. My face was burning, embarrassment and anger fighting for dominance. He finally looked back up at me, looking absolutely indifferent, at the most slightly annoyed. I wanted to shout at him but what was the point? He clearly didn't give a shit and I shouldn't either. 

My shoulders slumped and I blinked as fast as I could, just managing to keep the tears away.

"Mammon, are you freaking serious?" I didn't recognize my own voice; all nasal and flat and...done.

"All I was trying to do was show my appreciation-"

"Yeah and I said ya bailed me out so we're even. Later human."

"No."

That stopped him.

"What is your problem? This is not my fault! And if you don't wipe that shit-eating grin off your face; so help me I will yeet you off a balcony!"

He blinked at me, started snickering and sauntered out the door, shaking his head.

I stared at the door before grabbing a pillow, burying my face in it and screamed for around 10, maybe 12 seconds. I tossed it down and strode over to the door. My frustration just grew when I noticed that there was no discernable doorknob.

"Great, how the heck do I even get any privacy?"

As if to answer me, tendrils of what had looked like normal ivy crept across the door, gradually covering it from view. 

"Oh wow..." I whispered. "C-Could you open back up?"

The vines and leaves obliged.

"...that's so cool."

The leaves swayed slightly. It felt like an acknowledgement of my compliment. I backed away and sat at the edge of the bed, letting out an involuntary sigh as the soft, comfy mattress gave slightly underneath me. Now that the bane of my existence was gone, I could properly look around. 

My room (at least in my humble opinion) was breathtaking. the small ornate glowing lanterns glowed orange and yellow and green. The tree branches spread out around and across the floor with small slowly blinking round lightbulbs. They lowkey reminded me of Christmas lights. The chairs and tables and shelves were so carefully carved they seemed as though they were growing directly from the wooden floor. In a comical juxtaposition, there was a decent sized flat screen television was set into one wall alongside what looked like a router and cable box.

That wasn't even the best part.

My favourite part was the hammock. From the ceiling in front of the TV, varying size branches and tendrils and leaves twisted tangled and wove around each other forming a sizeable hammock right in front of the television. 

I ran my toes along the edge of the rug.

"This is going to have to go, just an attack waiting to happen," I thought aloud. I didn't make any moves to get up though. 

All at once, the emotional, mental and physical exhaustion slammed into me like a truck. I forced myself upright and dragged myself to retrieve my new backpack from the table.

Bad idea. I worked my toe on the table leg.

"Ow! Shit! Frik! Damnit, what the fu-"

"Language" Lucifer's muffled voice reprimanded me as he walked past my room. 

"You're not my dad!" I quoted in a whisper but I held my tongue. I dragged the bag to the hammock and wobbled around precariously for a bit as I pulled it up with me. I dug around a bit til I found the book I had gotten from the bookstore. It was a little dusty and a little scuffed; clearly it had been there a while. It was thick and large with a blue indigo purple gradient leather cover (At least I think it was leather? Honestly, only God knows what this stuff was 'cause I neva hear 'bout a purple cow) with gold and silver accents.

The cream coloured stiff pages beckoned me to fill in all the details before I forgot them. 

Lord knows I've got a lot to say. 

  
  
  



	6. Lesson 1-4 Ring A Linga Ling; Skool Bell Ah Ring

_Entry 2 January 7th 2020_

So, I'm currently hiding in a tree with what appears to be a Pygmy Amphitere in the palm of my hand. I am awaiting the train wreck that my next class is bound to be. Yes. This makes perfect sense. Also, I don't know what kind of super-charged demon caffeine they have in their coffee beans; but I only had half of one of those paper cups you get from one of those coffee machines, and I can't stop shaking my leg. Heck, even the dragon had taken a little sip from my cup and ended up orbiting my head for 20 minutes straight. Got me spinning so bad I nearly fell outta the tree.

Anyways, let’s go back some, yeah?

I spent the night staring around at the foliage in my room. As exhausted as I was I couldn't fall asleep. That's nothing out of the ordinary for me. It takes a couple of days for me to sleep in a new place. I looked at the time on my DDD.

_5:30am. Time to get up._

It's not that the Academy is far, mind you, I was just hoping to gain my bearings before everything got hectic and full of people

"Ugh, people."

Anxiety curled into a cage around my stomach, taking my appetite away. Oh well. My stomach normally can't deal with early morning breakfast anyways. I managed to drag myself towards the bathroom, apologizing to the table after I bumped into it. I pulled my shower cap on and stepped through the wall of foliage and vines that made up the shower curtain. There were no taps, no shower head, nothing. I stood there, yawned and lightly slapped my cheeks with my hands

"Yo girl, wake tf up it's the first day. How does this even work?" I grumbled, groping along the shower wall for a hidden panel or something only for warm, nearly scalding water just started pouring on top of me as though I was caught in a sudden heavy rainstorm, falling right from the ceiling. I smiled and got to work. 

Ten minutes later I stared down at the formidable challenge that my uniform jacket would undoubtedly shape up to be. My tights and skirt were fine, but this double buttoned monstrosity…

"Watch mi an' yuh," I vowed grimly, taking it off of my bed. _[Trsl: Just you wait]_

_**(｡･∀･)ﾉﾞ STAGE CHANGE (｡･∀･)ﾉﾞ** _

__

Beelzebub paused on his way to the kitchen and listened. No, he wasn't imagining it. There were a series of muffled, random thumps coming from Sinai's room. After a moment, the noises died down only for a loud thud to rattle the door, followed by a muffled expletive. He hesitated.

On one hand, the human could really need help.

On the other hand, he had just finished his daily jog and his stomach felt as though it was about to digest itself. There was no guarantee he could stop himself once he opened that door.

Another thud and this time a cry of pain.

Beelzebub knocked.

"Sinai? Is everything okay?"

There was silence before the door swung inwards, revealing the exchange student. Beelzebub pressed his lips together to stop himself from laughing.

"How did you manage-?"

"I don't know," she wailed.

The exchange student had one arm bent and pinned awkwardly at her side with the hand just peeking out of the sleeve. Only three buttons were fastened and all in the wrong places and her cape was draped over her head, obscuring half her face and knocking her glasses askew. 

"Would you like some help?" he asked, flipping the cape off of her head

"Yes, please," she mumbled, barely above a whisper.

* * *

Sinai's eyes grew wider and wider as she watched Beelzebub eat, her elbows resting on the counter and her chin resting on her hands.

"And when I so much as look at a patty, I gain five pounds?" she commented, genuinely impressed.

"What's a patty?" The Avatar of Gluttony asked between mouthfuls.

"It's a kind of savoury pastry from home, like the unofficial national dish, really. Flaky crust with beef, curry chicken, vegetables," she counted them off on her fingers "just about anything you could think of, to be honest,"

"Huh. I want to try one,"

The human tilted her head from one side then gave him a small smile.

"Hear what Beelzebub, if I ever get a chance to go visit home at any point, I'll buy you a baker's dozen," she promised. He gave her a slow smile that she couldn't help but return.

"Alright. I'll hold you to that," he reassured her.

"Are you done with that?" she asked, pointing to a plate. Beelzebub's expression grew guarded. Sinai took a half step back, her hands raised to chest level.

"I was just gonna wash up, is all." she clarified. 

"Oh. Sure, thank you… wait, aren't you going to eat?"

Sinai waved him off. 

"No man, my stomach is closed off til like 10, 11 am. I'll make up for it at lunch." 

Beelzebub shrugged and let her help clear up, watching her while he continued to eat. After she had put the clean dishes to drain, she sat across from him at the table. The two of them maintained an amicable silence until Beelzebub finished eating.

"Ready?" she asked as he stood up, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet now that she was more awake. The demon raised his eyebrows and his purple-pink eyes widened slightly.

"You're coming with me?" 

At his reaction, her grin faded, and she ducked her head, rubbing the back of her neck.

"I mean, if you don't mind," she backpedalled. "I just wanted to reach early so that I could try to find my way around and stuff..."

"Sure," he said with a shrug. After all, he was full, at least for the next few minutes. This was probably the least likely time he'd try to eat her. Sinai's face lit up again, smiling so widely her cheeks forced her eyes shut.

When they had walked into the entrance hall, she paused and took her bag off.

"Sorry! It's just last time Lucifer said that I shouldn't just go anywhere without letting anyone know."

She produced a pen and paper and wandered over to the notice board. She pressed against the notice board and absentmindedly stuck her tongue out as she decorated the note with stars with her highlighter. Satisfied, she stuck it onto the board, scooped up her bag and trotted to catch back up to Beelzebub who paused at the door to wait for her.

_Good Mornin' Mr. Lucifer,_

_It's Sinai. I didn't run away or anything and I'm not by myself. (Beelzebub is with me). I wanted to head over early and familiarize myself so I won't be late for anything. I hope that's alright. Have a good day!_

_\- Sinai_

Beelzebub appreciated the quiet as he and Sinai walked to the Academy. It was always nice when others didn't interpret his silence for hostility. He had to slow down every block so she could catch up, but otherwise, everything was fine. His thoughts turned back to an issue that had been weighing on him for a while. He still hadn't heard a word from Belphie, even though he definitely should have reached the Human World by now. He scowled as he sifted through his memories, trying to pinpoint if he had said or done anything to make him upset. Inevitably his memories carried him back to a time he wanted to but couldn't bear to forget.

_Belphie…will you ever be able to forgive me?_

Belphegor's absence left him with an emptiness that food couldn't keep at bay; it was on par with his usual hunger, possibly even more. At the very least his appetite could be relieved even if it was brief. 

He was shaken out of his reverie by a gentle grip tugging on his forearm. He looked down to see the human gazing back up at him earnestly.

"You okay there, fam?

"Yeah,"

"Sure, sure?"

Beelzebub nodded.

The human nodded to herself but kept glancing over at him. _She probably thinks I wouldn't notice._ He decided to let her. 

"Hey, Sinai,"

"Mhm?" she said distractedly, pulling up the straps of her school bag.

"Do you have any brothers?"

"Lol, just one. His name is Matthew; he's three and a half years younger than me but he's still my baby brother…I don't care if he's taller than me..." 

The last statement was mumbled as she pouted, frowning slightly at the sidewalk.

"Do you miss him?"

"Absolutely. But he's why I'm here."

Beelzebub glanced over at her but didn't say anything. She took it as her cue to continue.

"Back home, they said that I wouldn't need to pay tuition and stuff for the year. That's a year's worth of fees that could go towards _*his*_ fees," she said matter-of-factly. 

She got distracted by a light post gripping it with one hand and swung around it once before skipping slightly to catch up with the Avatar of Gluttony.

"Although in all fairness, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind when they were talking about an exchange program," she admitted with a nervous smile.

Beel didn't smile back.

"If you knew where you were heading would you still go?" he asked his earnest gaze trained on her.

The human's expression sobered and when she spoke her voice was measured and serious 

"For Mattie? Hell yeah, I'd do it…besides, I'm actually kinda glad I get to be a part of something like this. Like making connections peacefully. I'm just one person... and I'm not sure how much of a difference I can make…but I intend to help with anything I can." 

"I can respect that." 

As they continued on their way they saw a few students in their uniforms heading in the same direction. A bit of the human's anxiety went away. If her classmates could fly, crawl, walk hell, even teleport based on what she was seeing, how would she stand out?

Then again, maybe her lack of extra appendages would make her stand out instead. 

The air was still cool. Leaves danced along the sidewalks, and the lanterns made a row of golden orange spotlights at regular intervals. Beel noticed the human was turning her head, looking around. Perplexed, he followed her motions, only to realize she was looking at the sky in a roughly eastern direction. She squinted her eyes as though she was searching for something. Apparently, she didn't find it as eventually she let out a soft sigh and gripped onto her bag straps; her face impassive. 

He had seen something like that before. A few seconds later it clicked.

She was looking for the sun. 

He remembered when they first recovered the overwhelming agony from The Fall, all of his brothers (himself included) had caught themselves watching and waiting at some. Waiting for something that was never going to arrive.

"You'll get used to it, you know," he reassured her.

"Mhm…wait what?" she shook her head rapidly in an attempt to ward off her despondency.

"The sun. I mean you'll get used to not seeing the sun."

She glanced up at the stars up above once more. Beelzebub had to hold up an arm to stop her from walking into the street. Unfortunately, this also knocked the wind out of the human as she walked right into him.

"Careful," he warned

"Thank…you," she managed to wheeze as she massaged her stomach.

The denizens of The Devildom slowly came to life as it got later in the morning. The sound of various languages washed over them as well as the smell of breakfast cooking, both from the assorted houses and Hell's Kitchen. As if on cue, Beelzebub's stomach rumbled. A moment later, two packets of Ovaltine biscuits were placed in his hands.

"Thanks,"

"Yeah man, no problem."

She stared up at the spires rising above them as they walked through the gates. After leading her inside Beelzebub bid her goodbye, his mind already focused on his early morning Fangol drills.

"Are you going to be alright?"

"I think so... wait, hold on! One likkle ting before you go; Can you hold this for me?"

After a few moments, she managed to extricate a huge ring binder out of her overfilled bag, flipping it open to reveal a very colourful timetable. He blinked, mildly surprised. 

"Huh. You're very organized,"

The human giggled as she shook her head.

"No man, don't mek this fool yuh. You could bet money this is going out the window by the end of the week. Anyways, what's this one? The two-hour session after lunch break?"

"C337? Oh, that's for dancing, See you later Sinai."

"Okie dokes! Bye!"

She followed the locker numbers, humming to herself as she moved down the line searching for her own. She stopped short as the revelation sank in.

"I'm sorry, DANCING?!" she exclaimed to the empty hallway. 

_**(✿◡‿◡) STAGE CHANGE! (✿◡‿◡)** _

"Dancing" I muttered to myself, dazed. In all fairness, they said to pack a change of clothes, but I thought it was for PE or somethin'. Of ALL the subjects that had to be mandatory, why DANCING?! Why is it even a subject for f's sake?

Y'all. _Y'all…_

I don't dance. At least in front of people, _not in front of people._ I legitimately cannot. My joints will lock in place and any sense of rhythm I possess will leave my body immediately. You know the part of the Cha Cha slide when they're like 'FREEZE'? That's me. Ironically, that's one of the few dances I will dance in public because I could blend in. Or something like Harlem shake or Gangnam Style where *everyone* would look stupid, so it doesn't matter. 

I really hope this doesn't count towards my final grade.

My GPA is gonna take a nosedive, I can feel it.

Honestly, I completely forgot about finding my way around and just focused on finding my locker. I didn't notice the eyes that were trained on me, nor the footsteps that followed me. All I know was that when I finally reached my locker (8996? How many gaddamn lockers are there?) I heard these two guys talking behind me.

"Hey. Check it out; **That's** the human everyone's been talking about.” I slowed down ever so slightly as I groaned internally. _Great. People talking 'bout me already. Ugh. shoot me now_. I scowled at my zoology book, trying to decide whether I could feasibly read ahead between classes. Probably not, but I packed it, anyway. _Better safe than sorry._

I tried to redirect my attention from the convo, but these guys were hard to block out.

"… If we strike when he's not paying attention, he'll never figure out it was us."

Oh hell nah, bubu. Today was not the day, and I was not the one. I started shoving things into my locker indiscriminately as quickly as I could without drawing any more attention to myself.

"C'mon, we should devour the human before Beel does."

_NOPE._

With that, I shut my locker and began to speed walk away as fast as my bag would allow me to. Panic was making me sweat as I looked around for somebody else, anybody else to ask for help. I was on my own. _I refuse to be taken out on the first day of school_.

"Hey! You there," I flinched and walked faster.

"No, that's right, I'm talking to you. The human with that frightened, tormented look on your face that demons love much.”

_Hold on a sec Si, that's only one voice, and it sounds nothing like either of the demons from before._

I turned around, my hands clenching and unclenching and praying that I would stop _sweating_ for God's sake.

The stranger was taller than me (I not too liking this trend, tbh) with stormy blue-gray eyes with silver-white neat hair and fair skin. He wore his uniform according to the regulations, with the only concession being a bolo tie. He surveyed me with his arms crossed, one hand cradling his chin.

"You're practically screaming 'Come and eat me! I'm scrumptious," he continued conversationally.

_Alright, Mr. Vocabulary. I see you._

"Yeah, well, I'm probably bad for their cholesterol," I grumbled. I wasn't upset, to be honest, just relieved that this guy (at least) didn't seem to have any intention of consuming me.

Well, at least not yet.

In any case, he laughed at my answer. _Maybe I’ve made a good first impression._

"Relax… your name is Sinai isn't it?"

I threw my hands in the air, rolling my eyes. 

"Does everyone know my name before I know theirs? That's not right, you can't start off on even footing that way." I huffed.

He shrugged and gestured for me to follow him. We wove our way through the students back to the more deserted section where my locker was. 

"Can you blame them? You **are** our newest celebrity after all,"

He leaned against the lockers next to mine, taking a DDD out of his pocket. My DDD, to be specific. 

"You dropped this, by the way," he snickered as I gasped and snatched the mobile from his hands, holding it close to my chest.

"Thank you so much, oh my gosh! Of course, it would be my luck to lose something on the first day."

I pinched the bridge of my nose before stowing the phone safely in my bag, zipping up the section. I took out a granola bar and opened it, breaking it in half and offering one to the stranger.

He shook his head, chuckling softly. 

"You don't have to..."

"... But I wanna,"

"Half isn't enough for one person, that thing is tiny enough as is."

As if on cue, my stomach rumbled embarrassingly loud. I felt my face burning as he raised his eyebrows pointedly.

"Don't deprive yourself on my account," he insisted, as he gently pushed my outstretched hand back towards me. "You should hurry and eat that, we still have to get to class."

I forgot about that part.

"You know, all now I don't know your name," I said casually. I had to speak up now as the corridors grew louder and more crowded. 

"You wound me, Sinai. I'd think I wouldn't have to introduce myself considering we're from the same realm.”

"... Solomon?" I ventured, sticking my last notebook inside my bag before I shouldered my bag once more.

"Nice to meet you, Sinai," he stuck his hand out. I gave him a sideways high five and locked our fingers. Without missing a beat, he brushed his thumb against my own and allowed me to hug him with my free arm. 

"I'm glad to meet you too," I replied 

And I was. I really was. Much like with Mephistopheles I already feel at ease with him. 

"I can show you where your class is if you'd like," he offered, taking my ring binder from me.

"Yes, please. Thank you!"

As we made our way past rows of lockers, towards the main mass of the student body I was now acutely aware of the stares and whispers. Solomon and I were attracting a lot of attention, and even though his presence was reassuring, my heart pounded at double speed every time conversations picked up once we walked past.

"Hey Solomon,"

"Yes?"

"Are you really human?"

He smirked at me.

"Now, what makes you say that?" his tone was teasing.

I had to step behind him as there were too many people to walk side by side. I held onto the back of his belt so I wouldn't get lost (or eaten. Mainly to avoid being eaten).

"The guys I'm staying with; you know the brothers that make up the student council? They said you had powers. You sound more like a wizard to me," 

He guided me in front of him 'to keep an eye on me' he claimed. Why this guy doing a better job of looking after me than my designated guardian? SMH.

"Well," he started, waving as someone called to him over the crowd. "According to the stories people tell, long ago I obtained a ring of wisdom - a gift from a certain someone in a VERY high position." 

As we walked by the aroma of someone's breakfast hit me smack in the face, waking my stomach up once more. Luckily, it was too loud for Solomon to hear this time; once was embarrassing enough. 

"Drunk on its power I used it to forge pacts with 72 different demons, becoming a wicked sorcerer," he concluded as he stopped in front of a door. I just stared at him and he stared right back before the tension became too much. We just started cracking up.

I thumped him on his shoulder, but not hard enough to hurt.

"That is _not_ what I grew up learning," I accused as I took my binder back.

"You can choose whether to believe me or not." he shrugged with a smile. "This is your classroom by the way."

"Arigato! Wow, 72 pacts? That's a lot, isn't there a cap for that? How do those even work?"

  
  


_**(¬_¬ ) STAGE CHANGE (¬_¬ )** _

  
  


The day had just started and the coffee he had earlier was only just keeping the tension headache at bay. Or was this a sinus headache? His temperature had been a bit higher than normal, and while he was sure it wasn't anything significant, he already set a reminder to pick up some cold medication on his way back from the Academy. Lucifer was walking alongside Diavolo, barely paying attention to what his superior was saying. As a matter of fact, it took Diavolo nudging him in the side to bring him back to the present.

"Hm?"

"Look," Diavolo's tone was hushed, immediately putting Lucifer on high alert. He glanced over the heads of some of the students.

"No, I mean there!" Diavolo pointed towards one of the classrooms.

Lucifer's eyes widened as he watched the human and Solomon chatting and laughing in front of the door. She was trying to hide her smile behind her folder but her eyes were crinkled shut and she was shaking in an effort to stop giggling. Solomon smirked at her before leaning down slightly to whisper something. Her eyes went round and her mouth fell open before she whacked at him playfully as she scolded him, contrasting with the giddy grin on her face. Solomon held up his hands, snickering as he fended off her “onslaught”

There was no trace of the polite, reserved person he met when she first arrived nor was she annoyed the way she was with Mammon. Lucifer grit his teeth as he noted his brother's absence. The human radiated naivety that even lesser demons would be able to sense it from a mile away. She may as well have a target on her back. He tore his thoughts away from the various ways he was planning to torment Mammon to pay attention to what Diavolo was saying.

"It seems as though she's starting to make herself at home." Diavolo beamed in their direction. "Then again, I suppose it makes sense for them to gravitate towards each other."

"It does. I'm going to ask her if she's had any difficulty locating her classes."

With that, Lucifer strode purposefully towards the humans’ general direction.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Hey! Finally an update! Yeah! I decided to have a little bit of a slow burn leading up to the frozen assets fiasco so bear with me likkle bit if things slow down some. As always I'm always, always down to hear your feedback and yeah! I hoped you liked this one =3


	7. Lesson 1-5 Lunchtime

A bell tolled somewhere in the distance. 

"Aw, shoot. Is that the five-minute bell?" I asked

Solomon flicked his wrist so he could check his watch. The purposeless movements and chatter decreased as groups of various sizes made their way towards their classes. 

"You're right, I better get going," he said

"Yeah man, don't be late. I'm glad I got to meet you. Thanks for the help!" I called, waving after his retrieving back.

"See you around Sinai, take care of yourself," he responded  
"Will do! You too!"

I let my hand drop and wrap around my binder, trying to hide my face as much as I could without obstructing my vision. I glanced around. No witnesses? Good. I did a little dance, kinda wiggling. If anyone saw, I'd look like an idiot, but guys, I made two friends! Two! And I just got here. I was happy. I turned around to walk into the classroom I nearly walked smack dab into-

“Jesus Christ!” I jumped, my hand trying to stop my damn heart from flying out of my rib cage.   
“I’m afraid not,” Lucifer replied cooly. My other hand flew up to my mouth. 

_Did I really just say that!? I’m dead. I’m dead. I’m a dead woman._

“Good Morning Sinai,”

I let out the breath I was holding. _Maybe I wasn’t dead yet._

“G-Good Morning, sir. I’m really sorry about that…”  
“An understandable reflex, considering I startled you. I see that you made it here unscathed.”

I let myself smile since I followed what he asked me to do this time.

“Honestly, I think it’s because I went with Mr Beelzebub and… wait you saw my note, right? I left a note like on the board….”

He smirked at me which was hella unsettling? So far whenever he’s done that I felt like I was about to get eaten, even more so than when I was walking with Beelzebub. 

I wanted to leave. I wanted to get a good seat in class so I could see the board alright. And I'll admit, Lucifer was just scary intimidating (which I guess is expected). He has been so polite and formal, but I legit felt like a deer in the headlights whenever I talked to him. I shook myself mentally to pay attention to what he was saying.

“Yes, I did. I appreciate that you took my instructions to heart.”

“Yes sir, no problem.” I fidgeted a bit before asking, “Did you just arrive?” 

“No, but since I’ve arrived this morning, your name seems to be echoing through every passageway and classroom. You've become quite the celebrity here, haven't you?” 

"Heh heh, I guess so. That'll take some getting used to, honestly"

I tried my best to stop fidgeting with the zipper of my binder.   
“I don’t really like standing out” I explained

"Give it some time, after all, it’s just the first day… and at least you managed to make it through the night without being eaten. Good for you."

I felt sweat beading on my forehead as I just gawked at him. _Excuse me??? Sir? Que??_  
Clearly, my reaction was amusing because he smirked at me, his eyelids slightly lowered.

"Still there is no guarantee you'll make it to tomorrow."

My glasses were fogging up on top of the sweat. Aside from the anxiety that was taking up around 90% of my thoughts, I began to worry about the first impression I would make walking into class like this. 

"Relax," he said laughing.  
"Ok" I nodded, inching as slowly as I possibly could to the classroom door.

“Was that Solomon I saw you talking with earlier?”

See, if I was smart I would have listened to my gut; my gut was telling me he didn’t really want that question answered. But what else was I supposed to do though, just stand there gaping at him like Henry 2.0?

“Yes sir; he’s been really cool yuh kno? Especially since he just met me and bere tings… I mean, he seems very approachable,”

“I see…” he said, crossing his arms.

“Since you are the only two students from the human world here. I suppose it’s only natural for you two to associate with each other…”

“But…?” I ventured. _Why was there always a ‘’but’?_

He inclines his head to acknowledge me as his expression grew foreboding.

“...but know that he can’t be trusted. He is the type of man who will try to subjugate even a powerful greater demon if he gets the chance.”

I swallowed, remembering Leviathan and I’s meeting yesterday. Exactly how mad would Lucifer be if he knew that I was a participant (albeit, very unwillingly) in a plan that would involve forming a pact with his brother? On one hand, they were bickering when I first met them...but what if this was normal sibling ribbing?? 

_Speaking of Mammon..._

“Um, sir?”  
“Yes, Sinai?”  
“Could you tell me a bit about Mammon? I-I know he and I got a bit of a rough start,” I hurried to elaborate, seeing the surprise on his face. “I just want to see if I can patch things up...I mean if he’s watching me…”

Thankfully, Lucifer didn’t press for any details. He pondered for a few seconds before speaking carefully

“Hmm...how should I put this? He is my brother, after all, I don’t want to say anything unkind about him; so I’ll try to be sparing in my criticism.”

I was legit curious now. Leviathan clearly already had a chip on his shoulder so this could be the first fair assessment I would get of Mammon’s character.

“He’s pure scum. The scummiest sort of scum. Pure unfiltered, disgusting scum to the point I’m embarrassed to call him a fellow demon, much less my brother.”

My mans say it just suh, no hesitation, no nuttin’

_Jesus Christ, you people are AWFUL to him!_

That was all I could think as I found a seat (close to the window, the front and to the side of the room. Hell yiss!) and waited for class to begin. 

* * *

I don't think I really appreciated how small UWI's population was when compared to other places until the tidal wave that was the lunch rush swept me away. I swear I don't know how it happened. Like one second I was walking behind Satan and Asmodeus and the next I'm going through the gates of the compound in the middle of a crowd so gaddamn _**DENSE**_ I had no idea where we were heading. All the while I was looking out for my appointed guardian, but apparently, he was skulling _[ditching school]_. It took about 5 minutes or so of walk-jogging to finally catch a glimpse of our destination.

"Hell's Kitchen? Ah, zeen," _[oh, legit?/cool/alright]_

  
I heard someone laugh to my right, startling me. When I turned to look I saw it was Solomon.

  
“Ay! You alright?” I asked, panting slightly as I tried to keep up.

  
“I should be asking you that; I’m surprised that Lucifer doesn’t have anyone keeping an eye out for you,” 

  
As he mentioned Lucifer I remembered his warning from before class. _Don’t be ridiculous, we just vibin’ not spilling our souls to each other._

  
“Well, my...guardian has gone AWOL for now.” I laughed.

  
“Yeah, I don’t know why he’d pick Mammon of all people.” he commented. 

  
“Yo, can’t he catch a break?” I asked, surprised at how defensively it came out. “So far it feels like everyone piling on top of the dude like, bruh. He annoying, but damn.”

  
Solomon raised his eyebrows but didn’t comment.

  
“You may want to brace yourself,” he said as we finally pushed through the doors. The smell box [hit] me and my stomach complained, ‘cause clearly I was taking too long to fill it.

  
“Brace myself?” I asked, standing behind him in the line.

  
“Devildom food can be different. The flavours can be a lot more intense or just plain different; tastes you haven’t experienced before. Some food is specific for different species, like faerie food, specific...shakes and drinks for vampires...but they’re very accommodating. Just ask!”

  
With that, the sea of students engulfed him. I paid for my pasta and cookie and spent about 30 seconds looking for my dorm mates before I realized it would be impossible.

  
“Hear what,” I muttered to myself, turning towards the door. “Imma just eat back at school,”

  
My hand was on the bar of the door when I coulda swear seh mi did hear mi name, but I still couldn’t see anyone I knew. _[I could’ve sworn I heard my name]_

  
As I walked back to the Academy, I felt little bubbles of optimism rise within me. Maybe things could work out here. I mean, sure, this was a place where I had to be wary but other than the two from this morning (and Beelzebub who, thankfully, seemed to have been restraining himself) no one has tried to harm me or eat me. I’ve made new friends (well maybe acquaintances but hey, I’m hopeful) one of whom is a demon. The classes were insanely interesting; as in, I deadass wanted to read ahead while I ate. I just needed to find the perfect spot… My eyes scanned the courtyard until I found what was looking for. I walked up the small hill, all the way up to the strange gnarled tree was growing on, kicked off my shoes and socks and with my eyes on a wide, sturdy looking horizontal bough I began to climb.

My pasta tasted like chicken nuggets, I just- what? Solomon was right, this was weird, but I could roll with it. 

  
I had nearly finished the pasta and was a chapter and a half into my Zoology book when I heard the rustling. I froze, slowly closing the book with my finger between the pages to mark my place. It grew louder and louder. I braced myself, ready to slide down the tree trunk and start running. Then the minuscule intruder revealed itself.

  
Its serpentine body was only about as long as my forearm and it didn’t have any discernible appendages except the pair of feathery wings that it had spread as it bared tiny fangs at me. _Classic intimidation tactics. I see you lil dude._

  
“Hello there,” I whispered. It hissed at me but its eyes were no longer narrowed. Instead, they darted to the bit of my lunch that was left then back at me.

  
“Go on, it’s oki,”

  
Slowly it crept closer, only recoiling slightly when I reopened my book too quickly. 

  
“Ah! Shoot, sorry hun,”

  
It squeaked at me, the sound oddly familiar. It makes me laugh now when I look back at it; cause the thing kept happening

where either of us would look up, catch the other one looking and then go back to whatever we were doing. Eventually, I found the picture that matched mi likke frien’

  
**Pygmy Amphiptere**

  1.   
Endemic to North African, Spread across Europe and the Americas between the 1400s and 1800s. 
  2.   
Possesses a serpentine body with its wings being the only appendages; wings are feathered and both its wings and body come in a variety of colours and patterns. 
  3.   
Amphipteres can grow to become hundreds of feet normally but the Pygmy Amphiptere doesn’t normally exceed 5-7ft in length with their wingspan being twice their body length. Due to their small size- 
  4.   
_5-7ft is small?!_ I glanced at the tiny creature that was now happily squeaking between bites. _You got a lotta growing to do, babu._  
-their small size and intelligence they have been domesticated as pets for some Devildom households. Omnivorous.
  5. Typically inhabits and guards frankincense trees. 



It had finished eating by then. While it was still keeping a safe distance away, it wasn’t looking at me with suspicion anymore at least. Again as slowly as I could I moved the now empty lunchbox that was between us away and put my hand, palm up where it had been. It stared at it then up at me then back at my palm before slowly moving forward and wrapping itself around my wrist and arm.

  
“I’m gonna lift you ok? But I won’t go too fast. Is that alright?” I asked. It fluttered its wings slightly which I took as a ‘yes’. When we were finally eye to eye I let myself smile. His scales and feathers were brilliantly coloured and looked even more beautiful up close. 

  
“My name is Sinai, I’m glad to meet you,” I whispered.

  
It considered me for a moment before giving a little chirrup and licking my elbow. It tickled tbh but I didn’t want to laugh and jolt him. 

  
“Can I give you a name hun?” I asked softly. It cocked its head at me and blinked. I smiled. I already had a name in mind because all his little chirrups and squeaks reminded me of my favourite video game characters.

  
“Is Yoshi ok?”

  
Another squeak before he unwound himself from around my arm and started flying around my head twittering and occasionally tugging one of the twists loose from my bun.

  
“Aw, I’m glad you like it bubs,” I giggled.

  
“I’m glad to see you’re making friends,” came a masculine voice somewhere above and behind me.

  
I jumped with a small shriek. Yoshi flew up and started spitting and chirruping, intent on scaring off our assailant. 

  
Something- _someone_ -grabbed my shoulder stopping me from leaping out the damn tree and tearing my way back to the main grounds of the Academy. At the same time, Yoshi quieted down. I heard chuckling. Familiar chuckling.

  
“Y-Your Highness!” I breathed, a hand pressed to my chest. “Sir please don’t mi nearly dead, mi a beg yuh” 

  
He grinned apologetically “I’m sorry, do you mind repeating?”

  
I sighed and laughed softly, relaxing. Yoshi had coiled up on his shoulder, still glaring up at him.

  
“No problem, I was saying please don’t do that, you nearly scared me to death.”

  
“You must teach me one of these days, it’s been a while since I’ve spoken to someone who’s fluent,” he said, settling down on the branch above me. 

  
“U-Um well I wouldn’t say I’m fluent…” I squirmed uncomfortably 

  
“Oh? What makes you say that?” he asked, genuine curiosity on his face.

  
I sighed softly. _Looks like I ain’t getting out of this one..._

  
“Well you see, back home I’d fall under a category that’s known as being “uptown”. This isn’t a geographical location mind you...it's kind of a social thing? Like...ok, if someone is uptown the perception is kind of like they’re rich and like kind of stuck up and they think they’re better than other people...ugh, wait I’m makin’ a mess of this.” 

  
I groaned, covering up half of my face. When I looked up at him his brow was knitted and he was nodding.

  
“No no, I think I understand what you’re saying.” he reassured me ”To be uptown is considered to be something as being part of the elite of society, am I correct?”

  
“...um well yes actually...maybe I was just overthinking it...Anyway! Right! Patois! With regards to the language thing, the stereotype goes that uptown people speak the Jamaican acrolect and that is the form of the creole closest to the standard dialect while people who are considered downtown speak primarily the basilect and that’s the furthest”

  
I picked a leaf off a branch and started turning it over and over in my hands before starting to rip off tiny pieces, my face growing warm.

  
“I was raised speaking the acrolect and with people around me speaking it during my childhood up to like 11 suh like when mi did a start high school and an’ start chat wid more people I began to pick up on stuff… and get picked on because I sounded ‘weird’ and they “heard tourists speaking it better…” I mumbled “But it comes more naturally now! But I have other speaking influences too...and my family still teases me…” 

  
I trailed off for a minute, wrapped up in my own thoughts so completely that I started when Prince Diavolo spoke again.  
“It really bothers you.”

  
“Yeah- I mean yes sir,”

  
The silence that followed was broken when Yoshi started growling and squeaking all of a sudden. I looked up and felt my jaw drop.

  
“Yoshi! Honey no! Bubu what are you doing?!” I cried.

  
The little amphitere paid me no mind and continued to play tug of war with the tassel of the Prince’s uniform. He didn’t seem to mind at all though. Nope, this mans was fully making a game out of it, holding it just out of reach and laughing as Yoshi darted at it, growling triumphantly.

  
It was frikin adorable.

  
“Aww! He likes you!”

  
“It appears so.” he chuckled, watching the stubborn little creature dangle in mid-air. 

  
“If you don’t mind me asking, Your Highness, how did you find me?”

  
“Please Sinai, there’s no need to be so formal. I just followed you from Hell’s Kitchen,” he said brightly before turning his attention back to Yoshi and their little game.

  
“Oooo, almost got it that time,” he taunted, prompting another round of indignant squeaking as Yoshi redoubled his efforts. The Prince smiled fondly at him as he continued “I called out to you to ask if you wanted to sit with Lucifer, Barbatos and I but I suppose it was too loud for you to hear me.”

  
I felt the blood drain from my face as that sunk in. _Did I deadass just ignore the Prince of the entire realm in front of the whole student body?_

  
_My ass is grass._

  
“Are you alright?”

  
“I am so so sorry! I thought I heard something but then I didn’t hear it again and oh my Gooooood” I moaned, burying my face in my hands.

  
_Could this get any worse?_

  
“It’s fine Sinai, really. Oh, that’s the bell,” he said and promptly jumped down from the tree as though the grass below wasn’t a good thirty feet from where we were. Of course, I had to take my time climbing down. He waited for me. 

  
“What’s the next class again? Oh wait, you’d have a different timetable wouldn’t you,” I asked as I pulled my sneakers and socks back on.

  
“Not for this session, everyone has this two-hour block together,”

  
_Two hours?_ I frowned. Every class had been in hour-long blocks so far, the only one that I had seen that was longer was... _oh no._

  
“Wait, is that the C23…”

  
“That’s right! I knew you would catch on quickly,”

  
With that, he scooped up my bag and started back walking away. I sighed and looked up. I didn’t see Yoshi but I said goodbye in case he could hear me and started jogging after Diavolo.

  
_**~S T A G E C H A N G E~** _

  
Sinai struggled to keep up with the Devildom Prince’s bounding strides all while trying to keep her lunch down. 

  
“I…...have a….question!” she gasped as trotted behind him  
“Ask away!”  
“Why….why dancing of all things?”

  
They crossed the threshold of a room even more massive than the Assembly Hall. 

  
“This part of RAD actually used to be part of my great grandfather’s castle before the Academy was established.” 

  
All he heard in response was a prolonged wheeze. The exchange student was hunched over, hands braced on her knees, panting hysterically.

  
“Sinai? Are you alright?”

  
Although she still couldn’t speak she nodded vigorously holding up an index finger. 

  
“I’ll be good,” she wheezed taking her bag from him, only for it to drag her down somewhat, landing on the floor in front of her with a sizable thud.

  
“Why do you have so many books?” asked Diavolo, perplexed as he peered into her bag. It was so full the seams were straining. 

  
“So I could preread for the next day if I had spare time.” she puffed

  
“Huh. Well I’ve got to admire your work ethic...but take your time, alright? This is just day one.”

  
“Okie, I’ll try my best to,” she promised finally straightening. Her brown eyes darted at the students that started to trickle in one by one. Anxiety turned her mouth corners downward. 

  
“So um, about this dancing thing…”

  
“Oh yes! The point of the program is to start establishing stronger diplomatic relationships among the three realms so it wouldn’t do to have things to continue to be dealt with the Old Way. Come, let’s put up your stuff,”

Sinai followed him obediently.

“The ‘Old Way’ sir?”

  
“Possession and contracts, ritual sacrifices and the like. So much blood has been shed unnecessarily, so many souls laid to waste needlessly. The leaders of the other two realms agreed that there has to be a better solution, a better way…”  


Diavolo trailed off a faraway look in his eyes. Sinai watched and waited patiently for a minute before asking another question.

  
“If you don’t mind me asking, sir, who represents the other realms?” she inquired gently

  
Diavolo roused himself from his reverie at the sound of her voice

  
“Well, I’m not authorized to disclose the leaders from your realm unless they allow it. The representative from the Celestial Realm is Jesus Christ.”

  
The human jerked her head back, eyes wide with shock.

  
“O-Oh. Ok, gotcha. Alright. Cool.”

  
“As for the dancing...we wanted to find something that could be understood across the realms. Things like numbers and love for example are considered universal languages. So is music. If you were sent to the Celestial Realm, the curriculum would have involved instruments...if you remained in the human world, then it would have involved singing. Here…”

“...here it’s dancing!” she concluded, smiling. The Devildom Prince smiled and nodded.

  
“Yes. Here, it’s dancing.” 

  
The second bell tolled, starling them both.

  
“I’m sorry Sinai, I’ve kept you too long. The changing rooms are right outside the door; it will take a while for everyone to arrive.” 

  
Sinai smiled weakly at his retreating back, her stomach clenching making her nauseous. She struggled to extricate her T-Shirt from her bag while headed outside. She had barely made it two steps over the threshold before a hand roughly covered her mouth and an arm wrapped around her middle, dragging her into the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a gwaan guys? I'm still a mess but here is an update! This chapter is a bit of a filler really (and possibly venting, sorry about that) I intend for the next one to have more lore and I'm actually really excited for that. Thank you for sticking with me and bearing through the irregular updates and don't be afraid to comment, I don't bite, I only hug =3


	8. Lesson 1-6 365 Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The magnitude of the program is starting to hit Sinai...is she going to hold or fold under the pressure?

Sinai couldn’t stop shaking as she struggled violently against her assailant. The vice-like grip around her waist got even tighter and the heat of the person’s body felt like it was searing through her uniform. _Oh God, it’s one of them from this morning. Oh my God._ Her heart pounded wildly while their warm breath against her ears made goosebumps stand out on her arms. 

“What’s the rush, buddy?” a voice sang, taunting.

She stopped struggling at once, terror giving way to anger and relief. She recognized that voice. All at once, she let herself go limp, making the demon loosen his grip in shock.

“What the- Woah! What gives?”

Sinai took the chance to wrench herself away from him. She turned around, half crouched and panting slightly, glaring daggers at the demon in question.

“Whe di bumboclaat wrong wid yuh, ee?! Yuh cyaan jus’ ‘andle people gyal pickney jus’ suh! Guh suck yuh m-”

_[What the *expletive* is wrong with you, huh? You can’t manhandle me like that?! (See more in author’s notes)]_

Mammon rolled his eyes and covered her mouth again. His face creased with irritation as he pushed the furious human against the wall.

“Listen here, you, and listen good.” he hissed, centimetres away from her face. She scowled at him and continued to struggle. He pressed a bit harder and she stopped moving her brown eyes boring into his blue ones.

“I just wasted my lunch break avoidin’ Lucifer because I couldn’ find your sorry ass. You pull a stunt like that again, and I promise ya, I’ll eat you myself and I’ll make sure it’s slow an’ painful, program be damned. Understand me?”

“Butthole.” she spat as soon as he moved his hand.

“Oh, that’s it!”

“Hey Mammon, any sign of her yet?” 

Mephistopheles rounded the corner to see Mammon’s hand was on top of Sinai’s head, keeping her at arm’s length as she swung her small fists in his direction.

“Can you believe I have to deal with this crap for a whole damn YEAR?” Mammon griped. Mephistopheles smirked, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

“Well, you look like you have it under control, it can’t be that bad.” he nodded in her direction.

The human spared a second to glare at him before continuing her futile onslaught. Mammon raised an eyebrow before pulling his hand back. Sinai let out a short yelp as she fell forward landing on her hands and knees.

“Hurry up ‘cause I ain’t bailing ya out if Lucifer gets pissed,” he said over his shoulder, sticking his hands in his pockets as he sauntered away to the changing rooms. 

Mephistopheles watched his friend’s retreating figure before peeling himself off the wall and extended a hand towards Sinai.

“Nah fam I’m good,” she spat, the anger on her face undercut by the tremor in her voice and the tears welling up in her eyes. The demon stuck his hands under her arms and lifted her up, letting out a soft laugh at her half-hearted protests before setting her back on her feet.

“I didn’t know he was going to do that,” he admitted watching Sinai dust herself off “I know it doesn’t seem like it but he can be decent once you know him better.... Although to be honest, I’m not sure why he’s acting like this,” he thought aloud, tugging at his beard absentmindedly

“I don’t WANT to get to know the bastard! He’s pissed at me for something that isn’t my freaking fault in the first place! What the HELL!” she exploded, her hands thrown above her head. She started pacing, her words speeding up and running to each other as her agitation increased. “I didn’t hold him at gunpoint and demand he look after me! That was Mr Lucifer’s idea! I don’t NEED anyone looking after me!”

She scooped up her bag and stormed away fuming. Mephistopheles watched her leave before muttering to himself

“Mr Lucifer? He’s making her call him Mr Lucifer?”

He slung his own bag over his shoulder and went in the direction Mammon had gone in earlier

* * *

When he entered, Mammon was the only person inside. He had already changed into navy blue joggers and his uniform’s blazer hung on one of the hooks; its wrinkles and crumples a testament to the less than gentle removal. As it were, the way he was violently yanked at his shirt and tie threatened to send buttons flying. Mephistopheles leaned over and gripped his forearm.

“Hey take it easy,” he said calmly. Mammon grit his teeth but slowed down.

“I’m the second strongest demon lord! I’m the third strongest demon in the whole realm and I’m stuck on babysitttin’ duty! Babysittin’ Duty! How the hell am I supposed to look after her if she never stays put, huh? What if something happened to her?” he groaned as he shed the last article of the uniform and reached for his tank top. “I’m telling ya, Lucifer wouldn’t let me hear the end of it,”

Mephistopheles was silent for a few minutes, carefully considering his words before breaking the tension.

‘Have you tried looking at things from her side?” he finally asked. Mammon frowned at him.

“I mean think about it,” Mephistopheles continued “Imagine you wake up in this weird place. No friends or family. And you’re stuck here for a year in this place where everyone has powers but you. Wouldn’t you have issues adjusting?”

Mammon snorted but his scowl relaxed slightly. Mephistopheles pulled his own shirt over his head, clapped his friend on the back and moved to wait on him at the doorway. 

“But still,” Mammon said as he and his friend left, “Why does she treat me different from everyone else?”

“Different?”

“C’mon Phis, look at how she acted around ya...after the screamin’ that is,” The duo snickered as they remembered the human’s panic.

“Yes well, that’s just me, isn’t it? And can you blame her?” Phis winked before side-stepping Mammon as he swiped at him, chuckling. 

More and more students streamed into the ballroom, forcing them to sidestep and weave their way through to the far side of the room. Mephistopheles made his way to a side room, struggling to get a bunch of keys out of his pocket with Mammon trailing in his wake. 

“No it’s not just you, she was all buddy-buddy with Satan, the first thing she did was feed Beel, hell, he was the one that walked with her this mornin’, She’s been all ‘Yes sir’, ‘No sir’ with Lucifer, bet he loves that,” he added snidely as he counted off on his fingers. “But she’s on my case? I didn’t even do anythin’ to her!”

“Huh,” Phis raised an eyebrow as he opened the door, seemingly unphased by the wall of light that threw his silhouette on the wall behind him. Mammon stayed outside as Phis got the class supplies together letting himself lean against the opposite wall, his chin tucked to his chest and his eyes shut. 

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re jealous of your bros,” 

Phis couldn’t see the way Mammon’s face flushed in indignation but he snickered as his spluttering reached him from outside the room. Sometimes he really couldn’t help but mess with Mammon. For one of the Seven Demon Lords and behind all the bravado he was a pretty emotional demon. Phis didn’t mind. It definitely made him more approachable than most of his brothers. 

“I guess I misjudged her then, she didn’t strike me as that type of person,” 

Mammon looked up and peeled himself off the wall at the sound of the other demon’s heavy footsteps. The memory of the human’s scratchy voice and swollen eyes as she tried to apologize for a situation that, in all honesty, wasn't her fault rose in his mind again, followed rapidly by the recollections of his own reaction. He squashed the rising tide of guilt down and turned to face the front of the room. 

**ಠ╭╮ಠ STAGE CHANGE ಠ╭╮ಠ**

I managed to find a perfect spot in the crowd. Close enough to the main body as to not stand out, but not too close I wouldn’t be able to see above the shoulders of my classmates and close to the back. I watched Prince Diavolo make his way to the front to face all of us and just…stood there.

_So ‘im nah guh seh nuttin’? [Trs: So he’s not gonna say anything?]_

Turns out there was no need. Once others started to realize that he was there this big ass crowd in this enormous room fell silent in less than a minute. _Damn. talk about respect._ His voice echoed in the vast space as he began to speak. 

“Now before we begin, I’d like to invite our exchange students to join me,”

And now my legs are lead. So much for moving. I don’t know who but someone gently pressed me forward. My limbs felt stiff and jerky. I probably looked like the dang Tinman from the Wizard of Oz. There was buzzing in my ears that just kept getting louder and louder as I felt the prickling hair-standing-on-end feeling you get when you feel someone’s eyes are locked on you. _So much for being inconspicuous._ I stared at my bare feet now wishing I waited to take off my sneakers, Prince Diavolo’s words barely registered.

“I would like to take the opportunity to formally introduce Simeon, Luke, Solomon and Sinai to RAD as well as thank them for participating in this exchange program. Let’s welcome them!”

I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t clapping. Then again, Mr Lucifer did say that most demons agreed that this program was a good idea. I wanted to look down the line to see the pair from…Heaven? The Celestial Realm? But alas, all I could manage was raising my head up a bit and smile. I spotted a familiar face in the crowd. Leviathan looked away as his eyes touched mine for a few seconds and he looked about as close to passing out as I felt in that moment. Bruh, my heart went out to him. Boy definitely felt more anxiety than me based on our convo yesterday and being surrounded by people, in a dance class? He stayed on my mind as we were allowed to rejoin everyone else. Well, he and Mammon to be specific and Imma tell you, the more I thought about it the more heated I got.

_Yuh already know seh ‘im shy an’ yuh know seh ‘im like dem simting and yuh nuh like dem simting. Couldn’ jus’ gi’ ‘im di ting, ee? ‘Ow yuh suh badmind?_

_[Trsl: You already know he’s shy and that he’s into this stuff (anime and manga) and you aren’t like...come on you really couldn’t just give it to him? You really gonna be spiteful that way?]_

I didn’t even realize where I was walking until I bounced off of something warm and solid. 

“Ow! Ah shoot! Sorry fam, yuh good?”

Solomon glanced from side to side searching before looking down. I waved up at him. He waved back, laughing softly. 

“You should worry about yourself,” he replied, looking me up and down. 

“I’m oki!” I said brightly.

I felt my smile grow wider when I spotted Mephistophiles behind him. Well, we really just kinda saw glimpses. Mans was completely surrounded by the crowd.

“Damn, I wonder what that’s all about?” I wondered aloud

Solomon gave me a maddening smirk “Don’t worry, you’ll see soon enough,” 

I lightly smacked his upper arm.

“Oy! No fair how come you know an’ I don’t?” I complained, deliberately letting a whine enter my voice

“How come you keep trying to beat me up?” he shot back

As the two of us laughed I kinda wondered if Mr Lucifer was really right about him. So far the vibes I was getting was that he was smart, definitely a smartass but not outright mean. He honestly reminded me of one of my best friends, right down to taking advantage of the height difference and using my shoulder as an armrest. I didn’t mind. I decided that until proven otherwise Solomon was cool in my book. 

Finally, the crowd thinned out enough for us to see Phis clearly. He had a big fine mesh bag that was nearly empty. I waved at him. He grinned back and beckoned us closer. Now the things in the bag looked like… Nah, I must be tripping...All the same, I decided to risk looking stupid and ask about it.

“Phis! What you got there?”

“Exactly what it looks like, Si, glowsticks! Go ahead, pick one,” 

He opened the bag wider. Y’all I have ne-ver seen glowsticks that looked like this. Thick, solid-looking, bright cylinders with a black handle, the length of my forearm. It wasn’t just how they looked though. I grabbed one of the bright gold-canary yellow ones and-

“AH!” I stared down at the thing as it bounced and rolled. 

Phis went after and tried to hand it back to me but I wasn’t having it.

“Hell no! Fam, what the frikin- that one has like faulty wiring or sumn,”

He and Solomon looked at each other bemused before a look of comprehension dawned on Solomon’s face.

“I think I know what’s going on,” he said, resting his chin on his hand. He turned to face me.

“Sinai, this is your first time, isn’t it?” 

I felt the blood shooting up my neck, like a thermometer leaving my face...nah it felt like my entire head was set on fire.

_WHaT?!_

“Oooh, shoot you’re right,” Phis smacked his forehead with his palm while Solomon nodded, his eyes shut and a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Lucky for me neither of them seemed to realize that I had the mental equivalent of the blue screen of death going on mentally.

“Sorry Si, I didn’t think about that. Would’ve warned you otherwise,” Phis smiled apologetically “This is your first time encountering magic isn’t it?”

_Christ._

_They couldn’t phrase that crap better?!_

_Mi nearly dead. No sah._

The absolute relief must have been hella obvious cause they were both looking at me a way 

_[Trsl: curiously/suspiciously]_

“Yeah, no I haven’t. At least I don’t think I have...maybe? Fam, I been carried down to Hecc; as far as I’m concerned anything is possible at this point...” 

I was trying to work out if I had encountered anything supernatural in my youth when I felt the glowstick being placed in my hand one more. It didn’t feel like I got shocked this time. Instead, there was a barely perceptible vibration and warmth that felt like it spread up from my fingertips to my arms to somewhere in my stomach. It brightened marginally and I felt my heart rate pick up a bit. Phis nodded approvingly.

“Alright, you should be good to go,” he said.

No, no I wasn’t. I stood in front of them with my arms crossed. Listen, I didn’t have a choice. I was trying my best to be polite but no one was paying me any mind.

“Guys, is this a prank? On a serious level. Glow sticks? What is going on?”

“The glowsticks are for strengthening the power of the ritual,” Solomon supplied. 

“Rituals…the dancing is for the rituals! Oh! So instead of sacrifices to make contracts and- Phis nuuuu!” 

The demon had been poking me in my cheek intermittently while Solomon was talking to me. He snickered and sorta smushed my face before stepping back. I stuck my tongue out at him but I wasn’t mad. Not really. 

I made up my mind. Phis is definitely friend.

Then every light in the room was extinguished leaving the moonlight and the glowsticks to pierce the darkness that resulted. Then the front of the room lit up with vivid shades of yellow throwing six figures into relief. Three of them appeared to be Little Devils who were (if I was remembering correctly from class earlier) a type of lesser demon. Now normally, they would have caught my attention since they seemed completely different from the other types of demon I’ve met so far but when I realized who the other three were I was shook.

Beelzebub rolled his shoulders and swung his arms, stretching, seemingly oblivious to the now deafening roar of the crowd. When he shrugged off his uniform jacket to reveal his gym (? Dance?) clothes, there was a noticeable increase in the screaming (I don't blame them tbh, but it still made me laugh). Leviathan meanwhile was slouching so much it was almost as though he figured that if he did it enough, he would disappear from view. His pale face had a noticeable greenish tinge. _Aw, jeez. Hang in there bubs. You can do it!_ Standing between the two for them was the Avatar of Tomfoolery himself, eyes shut, arms crossed and a genuinely confident smirk I hadn’t seen before. The entire atmosphere was like a concert like the entire air was charged with the same static, well I guess I now know that it was magic I felt when I first picked up the glowstick. 

Then the music started. 

I had to cover my ears because I wasn't ready for how much louder these people could cheer. The orange, yellow and red glowsticks waving wildly in the air made the entire crowd look like it ignited, broken up by individual little spots that were the rainbow ones. The chanting of their names and the base of the music felt like it was taking over the beat of my heart. Despite everything I heard from everyone, I could barely believe my eyes. They were legit dancing and **_damn_ **could they dance. 

They started as individuals. Lemme break it down.

That meant Beelzebub being able to pull off these freaking impossible gravity-defying breakdance moves like instantly and of course he would be able to, look how strong this guy is. My noodle arms could ne-ver.

That meant Leviathan (with all his shaking and anxiety) taking a deep breath, shutting his eyes so tight his whole face was scrunched up and pulling off the gaddamn _smoothest_ electro-swing moves I have seen in my life. Friction? Who is she? Cause Levi clearly doesn't know her. _The hell you were nervous about dude? you did that!_

That meant Mammon...

“Woah” I muttered, causing Mephistopheles to laugh beside me.

Was this:

  1. Hip hop? 
  2. Pop? 
  3. Popping and Locking?
  4. Jus’ full-on free stylin’?



The correct answer is yes. Mammon’s movements were fluid in a way I never seen any human move before (which in hindsight no frikin’ duh). My eyes followed the flow of motion up his arm, watched as it rolled down his torso, down to-

I felt myself stiffen up, goosebumps racing up my arms and legs. Something was wrong, Something was very wrong. I pressed the heel of my right hand over my heart, willing it to slow down, all while trying to distract myself from how dry my mouth felt. 

"Si? You alright?" I barely heard Phis' voice but I managed to nod.

I felt sweat starting to bead on the palms of my hands and my stomach turned over. I started searching for an exit, an out, something. Tried not to focus on the heat of the bodies around me, the feeling of skin against mine. I wrenched my eyes away from the lesson (?) going on in front of me and…

“What the hell?” I whispered to myself. 

Listen, I know that normally managing to stave off a panic attack is a good thing. At that moment I still considered it a good thing; like Wooo! Congrats you’re ok!. The thing is, it has never ever just...gone away like that. That was bizarre. I shook my head and tried to pay attention again. In the short space of time I was freaking out, some new development had...well developed. There were these symbols floating everywhere. Red and yellow and orange, each colour had their own specific symbol, except for the odd rainbow coloured symbol which could be any one of them. The trio was still tearing up the front of the room, but something was different. Their unique dance styles were morphing seamlessly into the same set of movements, completely in sync and then…

“Thank you for demonstrating!” I heard the Prince’s voice somehow, impossibly booming over everything. The three Little Devils were on the floor in a heap, panting hysterically. Despite still being in front of everyone, Leviathan slipped his headphones on, the tension visibly leaving his body. Beel meanwhile seemed completely preoccupied with eating a burger. _Beel. Honey. How did you even get that up there? Where did you hide it? I have questions and concerns._ Mammon was just standing there with his arms crossed and the biggest, sh!t eating grin I’ve ever seen. The most frustrating thing was he earned it. 

_What...what just happened?_

The rest of the session went on in a complete blur. I felt utterly overwhelmed, overstimulated. I made probably way too many “bathroom breaks’ just to keep myself from freaking out. At least now I could steel myself for next time. _I wish there wasn’t a next time._ When I returned from my 5th trip people were starting to disperse all chattering excitedly, grinning looking as though they had the time of their life. I felt a lump growing in my throat. _Why am I like this? This is stupid you’re fine._

I didn’t feel fine.

_Suck it up bitch it’s one class!_

I’m trying. I swear to God I’m trying

_Deal with it! This is going to be your whole year_

How am I going to get through the year?

“Sinai?”

I took a deep breath before putting on a smile and turning around to face Phis.

“Ay! Wassup?” I was gratified that the only difference in my voice was that it was slightly deeper.

“What happened? You look...kind of lost?”

“...am I that obvious?” I sighed.

Thankfully the room was nearly empty. I chanced wiping at my eyes. Mephistopheles patted my shoulder and kind of steered me towards the corner of the room where the pile of bags used to be. Which I was grateful for because I could feel the frustration and hopelessness rising as heat in my face and tears in my eyes. The demon didn’t do anything aside from tentatively rubbing small circles on my upper back. 

“Um...do you need anything?”

“Nah...thank you Phis.”

“Well, what about someone to talk to?” he asked, lowering himself to sit on the floor.

He leaned back against the wall, his legs stretched out in front of him. He looked back up at me, grinning as he patted the ground beside him. I shook my head, with a smile that while wobbly, was real and sat beside him. 

“Phis I dunno what to do, it’s day one and I’m already in over my head I have no freaking idea what was going on, and everything was so loud and this is supposed to be one of the most important parts of the program-

“Sloooow down Si. One thing at a time,” he interrupted. 

“Okie”

“You’re right, it is day 1. Which means you have 364 days to get everything together right?” 

“Right…” I said slowly, still trying to stop my eyes from sweating.

“As for today...well, hmmm.”

He tapped the centre of his forehead with his finger, his brow furrowed until he caught sight of the glowstick I had been idly tapping on my knee.

“Can I see that?” he asked

I handed it to him, watching as he turned it over and over in his hands.

“Let’s start with this.” 

“The glowstick?”

“Yeah, the glowstick. Alright so, you already know they are imbued with magic. Now what happens is, during the dancing, the magic they contain gets used to strengthen and align the power of the ritual -which in this case is a dance battle. When you use the magic, the glowsticks shrink til they disappear”

As he said this, he jerked his head to the left. I leaned forward to see the same bag from earlier. It was full but only with the black handle end of the glowsticks. 

“Those symbols you saw floating around? Those were from the glowsticks. Pretty cool, right? So the basic rundown so far is…” he trailed off, raising an eyebrow at me.

“..so you have the challengers, and each of them has a baseline amount of power…” he nodded so I continued.

“So to access or utilize their power in a safer, more universal way...dancing...and the glowsticks, extra magic to strengthen and align energies.” 

At this point I was avoiding Mephistopheles’ eyes, trying not to smile, only for him to poke my cheek again, laughing.

“I’m sorry, did I just hear the basic outline of the lesson?”

“Oh, hush up you!” I groaned, trying to push his smug face away. 

Inside I was hella grateful though. Somehow, he managed to make me feel better. Normally with something like this would be on my mind for the rest of the day, weighing me down to drown in a pool of self-doubt. I toyed with the glowstick again. The feeling of the power it contained now made me feel safe. It still felt like a little like static electricity, but it also felt warm and reassuring. Mephistopheles stood up with a grunt, before turning around, his hand outstretched. 

“What’s with those symbol things anyway?” I asked as he pulled me up. 

“Oh, those? Well, those are the symbols of the different demons. Beel’s was the red one,”

_The fighter jet shaped one_

“Levi’s is the orange,”

_Alright, round, orange fish hook looking one….wait…_

“Does this mean the yellow ones…?”

Mephistopheles smirked at me, nodding before looking past me and waving.

“Speak of the devil, huh?” he called grinning. I didn’t even bother to turn around when I felt the hand grip my forearm. 

“Relax nuh man! I need to get my stuff,” 

I yanked my arm out of Mammon's grip and took my bag from Mephistopheles. I waved at him but didn't say anything as he and Mammon exchanged goodbyes. It was kinda funny how now my bag felt like it weighed a ton. 

As we went through the school gates, I felt his hand close on my shoulder. _Could you not, though? My nerves are shot as is._ When I did try to shake it off the grip just tightened. 

"Not this time human. We wouldn't want you gettin' lost again, right?" he sneered

"I didn't do it on purpose." I idly wondered why I even bothered, it's not like he'd listen anyway. 

It was so bizarre feeling the difference in the atmosphere between when Beelzebub and I had walked to RAD in the morning. This silence felt...tense? Heavy? Ugh, I'm bad with adjectives; bear with me y'all. Even the sounds were different. It being the afternoon, everything in the Devildom was in full swing, and much like the evening before with Satan and moving between classes, I felt eyes on me. Again, surprisingly some were just curious, a lot were passing glances and the openly malevolent or ravenous expressions...maybe having this jackass' hand on my shoulder was a good thing. Purely for security reasons. I am not about to be taken out on my very first day.

"What was your deal in class a while ago?" he asked brusquely 

"Huh?"

"In C337. You looked fine an' all of a sudden you looked you saw a ghost." 

We pulled apart to make way for a group heading in the opposite direction of us, carrying a box of pastries that looked and smelled so good I had to bite back a moan. I guess something must have shown on my face because Mammon looked at the direction I was staring in and started laughing. Like an actual proper laugh, not just snickering at my expense. Legit, whole body relaxed, head thrown back laughter.

_Well, shit._

"Wow. Never thought I'd see someone look at food the same way Beel does. Guess Gluttony really is your cardinal sin." he said when he calmed down a bit. His face was still...softer. I didn't see any of the irritation from earlier. 

I didn't like it. _You. Stop that. This instant._

"Oh hush up, you" I grumbled, turning away. 

"Seriously though-," 

_Jeez, you're persistent! Relax yuhself nuh man! [Calm down!]_

"-did somethin' happen? Anyone say anythin' to ya?"

Well, I wasn't expecting that. What do I even say cause like, I sure as hell don't know him well enough to talk about me losing my shit.

"Um..." 

He glanced at me before turning away his away sharply.

"Well, whatever it is, either hurry up an' say somethin' or deal with it yourself...just stop walkin' around the place all scared an' gloomy 'cause Lucifer's gonna blame me for it." 

_Of course._

* * *

I collapsed onto the hammock, relishing the way it gave underneath me as it started to sway. I think I've already started to think about this room, my personal space as home. Then again, I guess smelling like home helps a whole lot. I had managed to push my way through all the assignments for today so I had time to go back and try study a topic from back at home. 

But I had something very, very important to do first. I dragged my bag towards me to pull out my laptop.

"Time to see if this Inter-Realm VPN's legit," I muttered, waiting for everything to start up. The call was going through and...

"Mummy? Can you hear me?"

The 5 pixels that were my mum froze for a couple of seconds but then:

"Hi BooBoo! I miss you! How was it today?" 

My throat went from feeling fine to being constricted so tightly I wasn't sure it would ever feel right again. Before I could answer, more pixels appeared. 

"Daddy?"

"Si! How come you're only talking to Mummy?" he whined.

"She was just who was on the call first, I didn't do anything,"

Now it really didn't matter how crappy the screen resolution was, cause the whole damn room was swimming in front of me. This is setting a bad precedent here, crying so much in like two days. _Stop being a lil bitch._ At the very least my voice wouldn’t be a giveaway cause the audio is barely better than the video. I heard a deep voice somewhere in the background.

"Mattie! Yuh good?"

"Why are you crying?"

_Shit. I forgot about Matthew._

The reaction was instantaneous.

"Sinai? You're crying? I can barely see you what happened-"

"Mummy, I'm fine! I'm not-"

"Did anyone trouble you? I swear if-"

"Daddy, nobody trouble me,"

I had to wait a good while to get a word in edgewise. 

"I swear I'm alright! It's just a lot colder than I'm used to and my lungs and nose don't know what to do. I had to make saline drops a while ago."

I decided to take the opportunity to slowly grab my DDD as the concern switched from my mental to my physical health.

_Bruh, could you not??? <_

**> Why you lying tho**

_Look I'm just a little homesick an' I don' want them freakin over sumn I can deal wid <_

**> Mhm. Sure**

_Mattie Plez <_

>Aite

_Yay! I love you! <_

**> Ugh, Feelings. Stay away.**

The call left me elated, heartbroken and pensive. 

"A year," I mumbled to myself, pulling off my T-Shirt to go look for something more comfortable. 

"A year, Si. Can you really do this for a whole year?' 

I dug around in my suitcase looking around for my wrap, only half paying attention to the task. I eventually unearthed a length of bright yellow cloth. I wrapped it around myself, right between my chest and under my arms and pulled it in a tight knot before taking the two loose ends around my neck like a halter, leaving the lower edge to hang freely, stopping halfway up my thighs. Did I mention the Devildom is frikin _cold_? Why the hell is Hell COLD?! My room has been the only place I could dress like I do at home, the only place that felt as warm and as humid.

"There we go, now I can move," I couldn't help but smile to myself, twirling around a little until:

_Squeak!_

_....What on earth?_ I stood up as slowly and quietly as I could. Silence. then the crumpling sound of a food wrapper coming from the bag at my feet. I backed away, my heart pounding as I prepared to use my DDD as a projectile in case I need to make a break for it. 

_Are Demon Rats a thing?_

Mure rustling then Yoshi sprung out of my bag like a jack-in-the-box.

"BUMBO- Yoshi! Jeesas man, my heart," I gasped, collapsing to my knees. 

He looked at me with large, contrite eyes as he fluttered towards me, trying his best to pull a half-eaten granola bar with him. I stretched my hand towards him but he growled slightly. He wanted to do it himself clearly. Eventually, he made it in front of me, nudging it towards me. I gave him a small smile and reached out my hand again. This time he wound his way up my arm and gave me a small squeeze. I picked up the granola bar and glanced at him.

"Is this for me?" I asked

He squeezed lightly again. _Awwww, baby!_ I pet his cool, scaley head with a fingertip.

"Hm...They never said that I _couldn't_ keep a pet..." I thought aloud, smiling at him

He chirruped and soared across the room, making a beeline for the tree, the boughs swaying slightly as if to greet him. I laughed and picked up my laptop and carried it over to my bed, leaning back against the wall. I checked the time. 21:30 (9:30pm). I can start my new entry for today. I gently caressed the blank pages. Anyone else get excited when they get like a new book or journal? Like about all the things you could fill the pages with and the difference between those well worn and heavy with memories right next to the fresh ones ready for more?

Just me? Aite, cool; I'll be over here then.

I paused when I reached the last class of the day. Despite Mammon's attitude, he could be onto something. If it was a panic attack it was different from the other ones I've had, but I mean, if they all started resolving that quickly I ain't complaining. Still...

"How did he even notice me, there were like, tons of people? Maybe he saw me going back and forth to the bathroom..."

Then it happened again.

I felt my heart start to pound harder and harder until I was sure it would pound its contours on the surface of my chest. I felt my breathing pick up to try and keep pace but I was still growing more and more lightheaded, my face growing warmer and warmer. I felt like my stomach dropped, so suddenly that I gasped. But then there was this heat there too. This burning that I had never felt before.

But I could still think. My thoughts weren't running into each other, my chest wasn't constricting as much, there wasn't any tingling around the mouth. I didn't feel like I was going to die. 

_What the hell is this?!_ I glanced at my screen. _21:55. Shoot. Shoot! It was nearly time I have to calm down I-_

And just as suddenly as it arrived, it was gone again.

"...the frik?" I mumbled to myself, pulling the computer close to me. _Is this because of C337? Am I gonna freak out any time I so much as think about it?_ _Cause then there's gonna be one helluva problem. "Hello, yes Your Highness? May I be excused from the course that is literally the core pillar of the program? Why, you ask? Because apparently, I'm allergic to dancing. Tragic, I know. I'm utterly devastated."_

It was 22:00. I could worry about that later. There was something much more important to do right now.

**( ´･･)ﾉ(._.`) STAGE CHANGE ( ´･･)ﾉ(._.`)**

A lone figure waved goodbye to the others that left the lecture theatre with her before walking in the opposite direction, bundled against the cold. The snow had stopped falling about half an hour ago, forming a blanket overtop the bus stop she paused under. The chill felt as though it was freezing the very air in her lungs, causing her to cough. Her phone started to ring. She smiled slightly and extricated it from her pocket, brushing her side-swept bangs out of her face and pushing her glasses up as she answered. A low-res image of her beaming friend waved frantically at her.

"Hello, hello?" the young woman said as she began walking again.

"SAPH! You live!" Sinai squealed. Sapphire rolled her eyes but smiled and nodded.

"I live," she deadpanned

"Yay!"

"You know, you don't have to call me every time I have a late-night class, my dorm is just like 10 minutes away." 

This time Sinai rolled her eyes.

"Yes, because I'm really gonna leave you to walk round a big ass dark ass campus? With things the way they are now? Yuh mussi mad."

"Well, when you put it that way..." Sapphire tapped the side of her chin, her face sombre.

"Saaaaaaaaaaph, I'm serious!" Sinai whined, pouting even more when Saph started giggling. Every time it seemed she was about to stop, glancing at Sinai's indignant expression set her off again.

"Mi naah chat to yuh," Sinai mumbled, her large brown eyes reproachful

"Yet, you're still on the call."

"Mi ago fight yuh..." 

"Wouldn't hurting me defeat the whole purpose of making sure I got home alright?" Sapphire pointed out. Clearly stumped by this, Sapphire had to smother her giggling as Sinai through a mini hissy fit before finally spluttering:

"Listen here you..."

"I mean, that's what I've been doing the whole call haven't I?" 

"Imma fight you."

"Clearly you can accomplish this through the internet. Also, I feel like we've been on this path before- Goodnight Mr Robinson," she said smiling at the security guard as she entered the building. The elderly man smiled and nodded. 

"Good night Sapphire,"

"G'night Mr. Robinson!" Sinai sang, her voice slightly distorted. He laughed as Sapphire groaned, "Good night to you too, Sinai."

The conversation fell into a lull as Sapphire waited for the elevator to reach to the ground floor. When she glanced at the phone she saw that Sinai's face had grown pensive, her eyes dull.

"Is everything ok?"

"I miss you. I mean...I always do but somehow, well now I feel even further away." Sinai mumbled, easing up to sit on her hands. 

"I miss you too. Hey, maybe its because of this new school thing. Based on where it is, it probably is further away. Today was your first day right?" Sapphire asked as she walked along the dark corridor, her shoes illuminated by the light that shone underneath the doors to the other rooms. "How did it go?"

"Well, the trip there was pretty uneventful," Sinai said carefully "It felt like barely any time passed and then I was there...um, oh! I met one of the people who established the program...The climate and daylight hours are definitely different..."

"Different how?" Sapphire shifted the phone as she looked for her keys, leaving Sinai looking up at the ceiling. 

"Oh, you know...colder...darker, but that would go for like most other places besides home considering we're like close to the equator."

"I can imagine." Sapphire shrugged her jacket out, leaving her black turtleneck. She sat down on her bed and held the phone right in front of her face, looking directly into the camera.

"So when are you going to tell me what's really bothering you?" the flippant note was gone.

Sinai groaned internally. _Of course_ Sapphire could tell something was off, she and Matthew always could. She shifted as subtly as she could, making sure her hands were firmly underneath her as she picked the parts of the truth she would share.

"It's...my dormmates. I used to havin' like my own space you know? Like yeah, my family is around but like is different when is people you don't know. Plus I kinda homesick already even though its been two days. Am soft."

Much to her relief, Sapphire nodded.

"Yeah, that was hard to adjust to, when I left I was really struggling with that. It will get bet- Si?"

Sinai's face grew hard, her eyes fixed in a cold glare that only 3 people have ever been on the end of. Sapphire frowned, confused before it hit her. She let out a sigh.

"Are you ever going to-"

"No." Sinai cut her off curtly, her voice shaking.

"Sinai...it's been going to be 6 years."

Sinai was quiet for a moment. Sapphire felt an ache that ran from her throat to her chest as she saw the tears starting to roll down her friend's face.

"Si...Si no...it's alright, don't cry. I'm right here..."

"Sapphire?" Her voice was so thick she barely sounded like herself.

"Yeah?"

"If my mom was going to carry me abroad at the beginning of summer, to be gone for the whole summer-"

"-Si no...you already know-"

"-and you had asked her when we were coming back," Sinai continued, speaking over her " when I was coming back and she didn't answer-"

"Sinai..." 

Sapphire watched helplessly as Sinai's face started to crumple as she swiped at her eyes.

"-and when school is supposed to start back and I ask her 'Hey Mummy, when are we heading back home, it's September and, and, and school's su-supposed to st-st-start b-back and S-Saph keeps as-asking when we're c-comin' back?' and she j-just look at yuh a-an' seh yuh not comin' back..."

As Sinai succumbed to her tears, Sapphire looked up at the ceiling, blinking her own tears away. Some days it was better for her. Some days it was better for Sinai. Some days it was better for both of them. 

And some days, like today, it hurt. It hurt as much as it did at the end of that summer.

It took some time for them to calm down.

"I'd still be upset," Sapphire said quietly. Sinai just stared at her, sniffling occasionally.

"I'm sorry," Sinai finally said, contrite "I didn't mean to get upset about it...not like that...I've been an emotional wreck today."

"Don't worry about that, but remember your meds. Really I-"

The Mario One-Up sound played on Sinai's end of the call. She picked up her phone and squinted at it before her eyebrows shot up. It went off again and again.

"Sounds like someone's really popular," Sapphire joked "What's up?"

"It's just...it's one of my dorm mates, I promised I'd help him out with this project; I forgot about it completely, ugh some help I am,"

Sapphire shooed her off the call at once, reassuring her that she would be fine and they could make up for it tomorrow. A few hours later, two things occurred to Sapphire. She had forgotten to tell Sinai about the dream she had and Sinai had neglected to tell her that her dorms were co-ed.

"And her parents were actually cool with that...man, things have changed since I left." she wondered aloud, putting in her earbuds as she started her first assignment. She was still typing her essay in the early hours of the morning when she heard the tapping on her window loud enough to be heard over the music.

"Hm?"

Stifling a yawn, she shuffled over to pull the curtain back. Nothing but the moon playing hide and seek behind a few clouds, illuminating their edges in spun silver. Her heart was beating abnormally fast, at least enough to catch her attention. She was acutely aware of the icy rivulets of sweat running down her back and her feet were too heavy to move.

All at once, the reason for her uneasiness struck her, shifting it closer to terror. She clenched a fist around the small cross she wore around her neck, inlaid with her birthstone and whispered a quick prayer. There were no trees nor balconies nearby. She heard tapping. Sapphire's room was on the fourth floor.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray for a smaller update gap! Now about what Si cussing earlier...see, there are gonna be some words from creole that just won't have an English equivalent so you're just gonna have to take it at face value (and please don't use this in polite company/as soon as you meet someone from JA like please I seen it go down an' it nuh cute). Also YAY! Saph is finally *finally* here I'm so glad =3 her part in the story is going to be just as important as Si's so keep an eye out for more appearances, AAAH I am v. much excite.


	9. Lesson 1-7 Bonded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is literally 2 months later and I apologize to anyone who's been waiting for this and if you guys are still here I appreciate you hanging on, truly. I really really wish that I could be reassuring and say it will get better with the updates but I am entering a real big transition stage in my education and life in general. And as much as I love writing and Obey Me I have to leave it on the backburner for right now. I really hope you can understand and if that's a dealbreaker for reading/following my likkle fanfic thank you so much for giving me a chance! Walk good til next time

Clothes went flying around the room as I looked for one of my bigger T-shirts. I yanked one over my head and grabbed my hoodie and zipped it up. I glanced in the mirror for a few seconds. Did I look like an amorphous blob? kinda. Could you tell I wasn't wearing a bra? Not easily, thank God. Normally that was a struggle and a half. But most important to me, was I warm? Hell yeah and honestly that was all that really mattered in life, yeah?

"Open, please? And do you mind locking behind me?"

As the door unbarred a small branch rubbed the top of my head, almost to reassure me. I smiled up at it.

"Thank you. Hopefully, I'll be back soon."  _ And in one piece. _

I slowly stuck my head out the doorway and scanned the area. No one in sight. I stepped out, falling into the old habit I have of walking on the balls of my feet to avoid any sounds. Luckily if I was remembering right, I didn't need to go further than a few steps.

I had been so anxious about my first day of school that I didn't really register my surroundings at the time. The roaring fire heated the stone walls as well, making the whole room feel warm and cosy. I felt like I could literally fall asleep standing there. The juxtaposition of the more modern looking microwave and fridge next to the carefully stacked firewood and cauldrons made me smile to myself. It was then I noticed the sound of rummaging. Someone was going through the fridge. Someone big, and I had a pretty strong hunch as to who it was. My mouth opened to greet Beelzebub but then stopped. What if he asks you why you’re here? Leviathan had asked me to be discrete and I was a shit liar and, quite honestly, I didn’t want to lie to Beel. 

_ I should probably just back out slowly… _

Now what possessed me to think my clumsy ass self could manage that feat, I don’t know. My heel hit the bottom step and I squealed as I staggered backwards, landing on my butt. Hard. I felt a shadow fall over me. Beelzebub stared down at me, chewing before extending a hand to pull me up.

“Were you gonna pretend like you didn’t see me here? Were you planning to tell on me?” he asked after swallowing.

_ Huh? _

"Ok hun, now you lost me. What do you mean “tell on you”? Who tells on someone for getting food?"

The demon shrugged.

"Sometimes the others tell Lucifer...meh, I guess it doesn't matter either way. What...what are you doing in the kitchen so late anyway?"

I sighed. Beelzebub had been nice to me so far and I didn't want to ruin that by fibbing. 

_ Leviathan is gonna kick my ass, I can feel it. _

"I'm meeting Leviathan," I admitted, wrapping my arms around myself as I rocked back onto my heels slightly. Beelzebub's stoic expression morphed into one of wide-eyed surprise.

"Y ou? Meeting Levi? Really?"

"Yeah, I know. I've gotten the impression that that's something weird for him."

"That's for sure. Huh...that's really surprising,"

"Yeah"

The silence stretched out and became awkward. Beelzebub turned his attention back towards the fridge and I sat at the counter. There was a thought I kept turning over and over in my mind from way back when I was walking back to the house with Satan. Both Lucifer and Mammon had mentioned that there were seven of them. Now, I might be absolutely useless when it comes to math but even I can tell something wasn't adding up here. 

"Hey, Beelzebub?"

"Yeah?" he didn't turn around and his response was muffled.  _ Probably found himself another treat. Honestly, mood.  _

"So like, Lucifer and Mammon mentioned that there were seven of y'all and I was just...wondering..."

I trailed off, fear making me shiver. Beelzebub had straightened up and slowly turned around to face me. There was no warmth in his eyes as he scowled at me, unbinking.

I nearly fell over as I scrambled off the seat.  _ Oh God please don't hurt me, please, I'm sorry, please-! _

I relaxed marginally when I realised he wasn’t coming any closer.

"...Now listen," 

I hadn't heard this level of harshness in his voice before. I involuntarily gripped the edges of the stool.

"Ok" 

My voice was barely above a whisper but he must have heard me because he continued.

"Don't you ever mention him in front of Lucifer, do you understand?"

"Y-Yes, sir,"

His brow unknitted ever so slightly. The paralyzing fear was starting to loosen up it's grip on me too. Breathing was getting a bit easier again and the buzzing was leaving my ears. 

"Just so we're clear, I'm not going to tell you anything either," he added abruptly.

"I-I wouldn't expect you to fam. I get it." 

This seemed to appease him, at least the frown was barely visible now.

"Lucifer would probably yell at me if I did," he added as an afterthought

_ Well, that sounds a little harsh, dang. _

I watched him warily. His face softened into an expression of sorrow I could only describe as bordering on heartbreak. My own heart sank.  _ Aw, jeez did I just trigger something bad?  _

"I'm sorry Beel," I said, slowly moving around the counter so that nothing would block the space between us. This time he didn't seem to pay me any mind. I wasn't sure if I shoulda been worried for him, or relieved for me. 

"Don't bother asking any of my brothers either...No one talks about **him** ."

_ Oh no. Please don't tell me he passed away. _

He looked utterly despondent. Y'all I don't think I ever wanted to hug somebody as much as I did at that moment just...what could I do to get that sadness out of his eyes, his voice. I stepped forward a bit more.

"I'm sorry, hun"

"Even though he's our brother we have to treat him like he doesn't exist."

_ Ok, that implies that he does, in fact, still exist. That's a relief. _ My arms had raised slightly from my sides without me meaning to.

"It's not right, But since no one can defy Lucifer..."

Stick a pin, people. That still rubs me the wrong way. What? What?? 'No one can defy Lucifer,' Bredda. Mi G. They are your siblings, not your children! I woulda neva try that kinda foolishness wid Mattie; ‘bout 'No one can defy' Cho!

He seemed to resolve something within himself, shaking his head slightly before addressing me again.

"You know what? This isn't any of your business, human."

Well, that was an emotional gut punch. I let my hands and gaze drop feeling stupid and hoping he didn't notice the tears starting to pool.  _ Why does it hurt that much more when Beelzebub was the one saying it? _ I stood there as he walked past me, mentioning something about a poisoned apple. When I heard the door shut behind me I wiped at my face with my jacket sleeves, not caring about the mess I was leaving behind. 

All at once, I was tired of everything.

Tired of having the word "human" thrown at me as if it was a slur, a dirty word.

Tired of fearing for my life, no, my very soul.

Tired of the ever-present nighttime.

I was just tired. I felt myself shutting down, being pulled away from the present moment mentally in an effort to protect myself. With more effort than it has taken me in a long time, I held on.

"God, I wish I was home," I whispered, my throat aching enough to bring even more tears to my eyes. I've cried more in my first two days here than I have in the last month. This was not a good precedent to set, not by a long shot. I sniffled and swallowed, trying to pull myself together before-

"Pssst...hey!"

"Oh for fucks sake!" I groaned exasperated, not giving a rat's arse if Leviathan heard me. His head poked out of an alcove I didn't even notice towards the back of the kitchen. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped short, frowning in confusion.

"What happened to you?" he asked

"Why were you hiding?" I responded.

Now that he had fully extricated himself from his hiding place, glaring at me. 

"What do you  _ think _ ?" he sneered "Beel was just in here! I can't have him  _ finding _ me with you, now can I?!"

_ Oh, fuck off. _

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"Oh yes, clearly a truly apocalyptic event, I promise I'll keep the rendezvous confidential," 

I was fully aware that I gave away that I had told Beelzebub the truth but I repeat, I couldn't give a rat's ass at this point. In hindsight that unfiltered answer plus how quickly the dissociation threatened to overtake me should have clued me in that something was off. Whatever.

"Are you freaking stupid?!" he yelled.  _ Here we go. _

I stayed silent as the onslaught against my subpar intelligence and overall existence began to pick up momentum. The longer Leviathan went on the quieter and further away he got. 

He started gesturing.

Drifting further.

He got up in my face but I wasn't there. I was somewhere above him. Beyond that moment. I was looking down at two strangers. One was yelling at the other but she wasn't there. 

The sound of choking pulled me back so abruptly I gasped. The demon in front of me looked paler (I didn’t even know that was possible) and was sweating and hyperventilating.  _ Shit! _

"Hey! My yute, yuh good?" 

He was staring at me...no, through me. That 100-mile stare that I knew all too well. He didn't even move when I moved closer to him.

"Leviathan...hun are you alright? How can I help you?" I asked, keeping my voice as clear and as even as I could.

"Ugh...W-Water...I need a drink of water," he gasped. I nodded as I steered him towards a stool which he all but collapsed onto. When I got the glass to him, he chugged the entire thing in less than a minute. When he finished, he took some deep. shuddering breaths, his eyes locked onto mine, finally focusing again. I stood still, unwilling to move if I was one of the things he was using to ground himself.

"How're you feelin' now?"

He glowered at me, still breathing hard before finally speaking.

"Why are humans so stupid?! This is exactly why you end up as food for us demons!" he paused to take a breath before continuing his tirade, "You're all idiots!" he spat "Every last one of you!"

The silence that I let fill the space between us was louder than all the shouting and ranting he had done tonight. I just stared at him after taking a seat opposite where he was sitting at the counter. 

There was nothing to say. 

I stared at him until his glare shifted to uncomfortable fidgeting and blushing.

"A-Alright, no more dwelling on that. We need to focus on the credit card!" he said, getting up.

I stared at him.

He shuffled from one foot to the other, glancing at me occasionally his face flushing more each time,

I stared at him.

"Would you cut it out?!" he finally blurted, all but covering his entire face with his hands.

"No."

Glaring at me through his fingers, he abruptly turned to the freezer and rummaged around until he eventually unearthed what looked like a minuscule iceberg with a credit card. He stuck it in the microwave, started the defrost cycle and shut his eyes in an effort to ignore me staring at him.

_ Bredda mi nah pay yuh nuh mind right now. _

I watched the ice slowly shrink as it revolved. 

Then Mammon walked in.

**ಠ╭╮ಠ** ******_STAGE CHANGE_** **ಠ╭╮ಠ**

Mammon's eyes were still glued to his DDD screen as he reread the text message about the preliminary popularity contest results. He laughed, revelling in the fact that he and Mephistopheles' plan had gone without a hitch. The occasion called for a celebratory drink, provided Beel hadn't cleaned out the fridge already. When he sauntered through the kitchen door, he was greeted by the downright bizarre sight of Levi seemingly willingly in the vicinity of the "normie" human. It took him a few moments to identify why this irked him a bit.

_ So she can get along with  _ **_Levi_ ** _ but she's got a problem with me? _

Leviathan started slightly when he spotted Mammon but the human's eyes were trained on...the microwave?  _ What, is she reheatin' somethin'?  _

Mammon looked closer. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as equal parts relief and horror rushed over him. There, nestled in a gradual shrinking block of ice was-

"Goldie! My baby! The love of my life!"

He turned to Leviathan who was cringing at the display, his contempt evident.

"Get her outta there before the microwave demagnetizes her and makes her useless!" he demanded, the authority in his voice undercut by an obvious undercurrent of panic. Once Leviathan had paused the defrosting and he was reassured that his precious credit card was no longer in immediate peril, the Avatar of Greed rounded on his younger brother, fists clenched as he slowly walked towards him.

Leviathan held up a hand, stopping him. 

"Not so fast," he warned, shifting a bit to show Mammon that his finger was hovering just above the start button. The gears in Mammon's head started turning. He was still close to the doorway but Leviathan, the microwave and most importantly, Goldie, were on the far side opposite to him. It would only take a second or two to reach Levi (and pound him into a pulp) but based on what he could see, there was only a thin layer of ice separating the oh so important magnetized strip from the damage of the microwave. He was fast but was he fast enough to take that chance?  _ If I was just a little bit closer… _

_ The human _

She was closer. As a matter of fact, she was within two, at most three feet of Levi, sitting at the end of the island the furthest away from the door. She might actually have a shot...The initial flame of hope that had ignited was snuffed out as anger, and if he was being honest with himself, betrayal. Here she was again, against him. Acting like she was concerned, that she had his best interests, that she genuinely wanted to get to know him when she was plotting against him with Levi of all people to mess with him. He should've known better than to take her seriously. It stung. 

"And here Phis was telling me that I should give ya a chance. Talk about bein' two-faced,"

Other than flinching, the human remained impassive, staring at the microwave even though it had stopped turning.'

"Tch!" Mammon rolled his eyes and turned back to Leviathan once more.

"Levi, you idiot! How could you do somethin' so stupid?! You-"

"Hmmm, are you sure you should be talking to me like that Mammon? After all, I'm the one who found...Goldie, aren't I?" he paused before shaking his head. "Ugh I can't believe you  _ named _ it."

Sweat beaded on Mammon's forehead as Leviathan moved his finger dangerously close to the button. There was no sign of pity in his brother's orange eyes, only vengeance. With a dull pang in his stomach, he steeled himself for whatever humiliation Levi had in store for him. 

He had no idea that this time, Leviathan's retaliation would reach a new level.

"You want me to make a PACT?! With the HUMAN?!"

Mammon's mind flashed back to being under the thumb of witches, of being at Lucifer's mercy and the multiple punishments. And now Leviathan had him backed into a corner withholding his most prized possession.

A pact.

With a human.

A human who clearly already had a chip on her shoulder when it came to him.

The said human still hadn't moved or said anything this entire time. Hell, if it wasn't for her blinking and the rise and fall of her chest, she could be mistaken for a statue.  _ No, wait. _ There was a difference. Shiny tracks streaked down both cheeks and at some point, she must have grabbed a sheet of paper towel to stem the flow from her nose.

"Will ya quit your blubberin' and grow a damn backbone already?!" he burst out. "How could you be dumb enough to let Levi use you like this?!" The human abruptly turned to face him, glaring daggers at him.

"Hey! Am I the one who's being backed into a pact over a freakin' piece of plastic? No! Now make the gaddamn pact so I can go to bed...and FYI, I've been trying to figure out a way out of this BS too ya know..." she finished quietly before furiously wiping the tears away. 

The silence that fell in the kitchen was tense.

"Fine. Come." Mammon finally said, his face flushed with embarrassment and frustration.

The stool scraped across the floor as the human walked towards him, slouched, her eyes trained on the floor and her feet dragging which each step. When she was standing right in front of him she stared up at him. He was surprised to see how red her face was. He put it down to the crying. They stared at each other, expectant for a minute.

"Well?!" Mammon burst out "Aren't ya the one who was whinin' about gettin' this over with?!"

"Bruh, the hell am I supposed to do?" she asked, exasperated. 

Mammon cursed under his breath, shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. How did the human managed to get roped into Leviathan's stupid revenge plot without even knowing the basics?

"C'mere," he said, taking one of her hands in his, holding it quite a bit tighter than was necessary and putting his other one on her shoulder. The expressionless mask finally cracked as she tilted her head to the side, frowning.  _ Ugh. _ She looked like an idiot whenever she did that. Then again just about anything the human could possibly do would piss him off at this point.

"Wait, hold on wha-"

"Just shaddup and follow my lead," he grumbled, yanking her forward when she resisted. A few steps in she seemed to make an epiphany and stopped moving to stare at him. 

"Wait, do we really have to dance to do this?"

"Duh. You were in class today, you know how this works," he responded brusquely.

At this her face flushed even further as she tried to back away, the heat actually causing her glasses to fog up as she shook her head.

"N-No thanks, there mussi be sumn else I can do," she mumbled, looking increasingly alarmed.

He took a step back and stared at her with his arms crossed.

"Well, ya can promise me your firstborn child," he suggested matter-of-factly.

Her brown face grew ashen and she hurriedly stepped back towards him, almost running into the demon.  _ What a klutz.  _ With her fists clenched, she took a slightly shaky, deep breath, swallowed hard and thrust her hands back into his. She trained her eyes on the kitchen before mumbling "Okay," so quietly he could barely hear it, close as they were. Mammon stepped back and she stumbled slightly. He was about to berate her when he realized that her hands were shaking in his, her palms starting to sweat. He settled with rolling his eyes but pulling the human forward a bit slower.

"Just follow my lead, alright?" he said curtly. This would prove to be a feat considering neither party was willing to meet the others eye. Her movements were awkward and hesitant and she nearly fell a few more times but he managed to stop her each time. After nearly a minute, she was finally moving with enough assurance for him to start properly. The Avatar of Greed started the incantation, his voice low and quiet. The human looked up for the first time, her eyes and face were still somewhat red but she was watching with unabashed fascination. He raised his eyebrows and managed a slight smirk. Strictly speaking, what he was going to do next was flashy and the pact could be completed without it, but a part of him wanted to see her reaction.

He was not disappointed.

He let his gaze flick upwards and the human followed. His sigil which was floating above them was reflected in her round eyes. His smirk grew wider when she gasped as the single sigil multiplied to hundreds and hundreds of them, surrounding the two of them in a shape that was nearly identical to a birdcage.

"Wow..." she said softly, looking around them. Her awe was almost tangible and when he saw her beaming unabashedly he felt oddly gratified.

"Ya might wanna shut your eyes," he warned.

"Huh?" 

The sigils started growing brighter and brighter. The exchange student shut her eyes so tight her face and nose scrunched up. It reached to the point where it was almost painful and then-

Nothing.

As soon as it had started it was over. The kitchen almost seemed dark, as though the flames did. The human chanced opening one eye before opening them both, blinking.

"I can't believe that you actually did it. All over a stupid credit card?"

Leviathan's voice bought them both back to the situation at hand. Mortified and angry once more, he stepped back, nearly throwing the human's hand back at her before retrieving Goldie before stalking out of the kitchen making sure to bump into his brother on the way out.

It wasn't until he made it into his room thirty minutes into watching the rest of the ice melt that he realized he was still thirsty. The magnitude of what happened was sinking in. 

"A pact. I can't believe Levi. A freakin' pact..."

Muttering curses under his breath, he flung himself onto his couch.

"Well it can't get much worse than this," he breathed. He closed his eyes, tilted his head back and dragged the palms of his hands down his face with a long, low groan.

Then the first notification came in.

Then another.

Then they began to come in so quickly that his DDD froze.

From the first few he had managed to glimpse before, his name was trending.

"Heh," he smirked, setting the DDD down beside him "I guess Phis and I really got away with it,"

The mobile started ringing. Mammon lazily checked the caller ID and snickered. 

"Speak of the devil," he said softly as he answered. "Phis? Wassup? Ya don't normally call,"

"Hey. Yeah I know it's just...listen, earlier when I said to give Si another chance I meant talking to her, getting to know her a little better. I didn't expect you to go that far..."

Mammon scowled at the mention of the human, the incident from the kitchen still very much fresh in his mind.

"Trust me, if anythin' I want even less to do with her," he replied darkly. 

There was silence on Mephistopheles' end of the call for a few beats.

"Okay, now I’m confused. What about that video that's going rounds on Devilgram, it's trending everywhere...oh damn...wait, don't tell me you haven't..."

Mephistopheles sighed and Mammon could practically see the demon pulling slightly on his earlobe the way he did the rare times he felt uncomfortable. The white-haired demon quickly put his friend on speakerphone, freeing up the display for him to look at. The more he scrolled the more agitated he got, pacing and running his free hand over his hair.

"No, no no no no,"  _ This cannot be happening.  _

"Mammon? Hey, you still there? You alright?"

Mammon didn't answer. He was trending all right. The video that his bastard of a brother managed to stealthily record was everywhere. Forget about RAD, the entire population Devildom could end up seeing it before tomorrow. The demon decided that ditching, at least for a week might be his best option. It would be putting off the inevitable but it could also give him the chance to run some damage control.

_ And another damn notification. _

His heart sank. It was Lucifer. He already had an idea about what this was about and the message he read aloud confirmed it.

"Don't even think about missin' class tomorrow."

He opened the attachment and of course it was the video. As if he hadn't seen it in the group chat. Or when Levi, Satan and Asmo took it upon themselves to send it to him individually. 

Mammon just stared at the DDD screen, silent before tossing carelessly onto the couch and dragging himself to his bed and let himself drop on it, face down, hoping against hope that this whole thing was a nightmare.

* * *

"Hello?"

Mephistopheles squinted at the screen. Still no response.

"Eh," he shrugged to himself, ending the call. He turned back to his botany assignment, his mind occasionally wandering back to try and figure out how Mammon and Sinai found themselves in that situation. He was so distracted that he didn't hear his DDD vibrating until the voicemail recording started.

_ "Good night Mephistopheles. This is Lucifer. I see you have a free session between 10:30 and 11:00 tomorrow morning. I expect you to report to the student council room on time to discuss your management of the RAD Student Paper." _

As the recording finished playing Mephistopheles stared at the device as though it threatened to attack him for an entire minute before exhaling heavily and turning to prune the Carnivorous Snapdragon that was trying to sneak the other half of his sandwich. Forget about Mammon, he might be the one who doesn't live past tomorrow.

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ _**STAGE CHANGE**_ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

_ Elsewhere, far away, earlier the same day _

When she looked back at it months later, Sapphire would pinpoint that first dream, the nightmare about falling from the heavens, as the start of the hell she would go through. 

Before this, her everyday routine was...well some would say boring. She would say peaceful. Any time that wasn’t occupied by a class she spent in her dorm room, now blessedly alone after roommates in previous years. Each of them had varying levels of compatibility, none were even close to awful honestly. But there was just something about having her own sanctuary that she could completely relax in. Plus her classes were a lot more spaced out.   


Pros: no more waking up at some God-forsaken hours

Cons: (at least in Sinai and her parents’ opinions) Late night classes. Well technically speaking, it was the safety that could really the con.

Wake up. Shower. Breakfast. First class: 10am, second class, go home for four hours to relax, sort out the notes, make lunch, binge a couple episodes (i.e as episodes she could reasonably fit in the time frame) of anime. Go for class number three, then back home for dinner, swing by church either for night mass or to do her own thing. Last class ending at 10pm home, assignments, shower and bed.

Like clockwork.

But maybe the monotony of things was getting to her

Sapphire sat in her second class of the day, the day after the nightmare. The dimmed lecture hall lights and the lecturer’s voice was slow, soothing and pleasant to listen to. Maybe too pleasant. Sapphire snickered as a guy three rows down let out an obnoxiously loud, grunting snore. The lecturer was completely unphased and Sapphire carefully jotted down summary points of the last couple slides before adding another doodle. She looked back up at the presentation before doing a double-take, looking down at the doodles she had done. Normally her doodles were of eyes or hearts or knives but this time the pages were littered with little symbols. Only one looked vaguely familiar, like the Greek letter psi but the others...she was at a loss. Then there was the butterfly, or was it a moth?

She shook her head and redirected her attention. The class had reached the halfway point when it happened.

At the very margins of her vision, so insubstantial she could’ve imagined it, something flickered. Subtly, she turned her head. No, it was there. The air was wavering, shimmering like scorching hot asphalt at midday. But it wasn’t colourless. It danced and shimmered, a dark entity. All at once, Sapphire was filled with an inexplicable dread so suddenly that she had to stop herself from physically recoiling. By chance, she happened to look up to see...a flickering bulb in the ceiling above. There was nothing there. Nothing sinister heat shimmers. The young woman sighed her head, annoyed with herself.  _ Since when are you so jumpy Saph? Terrified by a busted light bulb. Jeez. _ Maybe that nightmare really was messing with her. There was a perfectly logical explanation. Just about everything has one when you dig deep enough. That being said, Sapphire quietly packed up her notes and supplies and moved to a seat two rows down. Being in the back with poor stuttering lighting would just make her vision worse. She was already way overdue for a new lens prescription anyway.

Nothing else happened until she was making her way to the university chapel. The crunching of the snow beneath her feet was the only thing that interrupted the near complete silence. The pathway wasn’t exactly deserted; she exchanged silent greetings with the occasional stranger walking in the direction she had come from. Despite this, the trees which lined the entire way, their now leafless branches meeting and tangled above her made it feel like she was walking through a tunnel. They were so dense only small random patches of snow and the moonlight that illuminated them could get through the “roof”. She was nearly at the end of the path, probably thirty feet away when she heard a sound behind her.

Sapphire glanced behind her for a moment, squinting. It wouldn’t be the first time someone decided to cut across the lawn to enter the path from the side as a shortcut, as despite how intertwined their branches were, the tree trunks themselves had gaps that just about anyone could squeeze through.

“Hm…”   
She started walking again the slightest bit faster. Then she heard it again. Not footsteps but something that brought to mind water droplets sizzling on a hot pan. 

_ “Hissing...probably a cat. Poor thing, to be out here in this cold” _ She stopped. Looked around again, this time closer to the ground when she saw it. A pair of glowing eyes a good distance away.   
“See Sapphire? A cat, nothing to worry about.”

All her hair stood on end as a few seconds later, she realized two things.

The cat’s much too far away for her to hear it.

Cats’ eyes glow when you shine a light directly in them.

There was no direct light. 

Whatever was glowing was coming. Fast. the hissing mixed with slithering and growing louder and louder by the second. Sapphire did something she hadn’t had much cause to do since PE in third form. She whirled around and ran towards the steps of the chapel, only 10 feet away now. As soon as she crossed the threshold, two things happened at once. The...eyes, all disappeared as suddenly as someone's snuffing out a candle. Sounded like it too, if the candle was 6 feet tall and blown out by a giant.

The second thing was a brief, blinding blue light left her blinking and dazed. Vaguely, she entertained the thought that this entire day has been a gag for someone’s YouTube channel and she was being recorded with an obnoxiously bright flash. When she recovered, her heart rate back down and her breathing now steady she looked around. There were others sitting in the pews closest to the chapel seemingly oblivious to, whatever it was that happened. She glanced up before a little bit of the tension had uncoiled in her stomach and shoulders. The large stained glass windows depicting John’s baptism of Jesus used a lot of blue. Blue glass, moonlight, two plus two equals four.

She made her way to her favourite spot, the third row from the back on the right, far from the aisle and let the scent of old, well-worn wood and lingering incense replaced her uncertainty with the peace that made her feel, well, safe. 

Sapphire lingered at the doorway, unable to completely crush the rising apprehension. She checked her watch and groaned internally. She needed to get going or she’d definitely be late. 

“Hey, are you alright?”

She started, wipping her head around before spotting a figure standing beside the end of the pathway, looking up at her from the bottom of the stairs. She stared at him for a moment, trying to make out any features. She has seen him before, she was sure of it. He must have taken her silence as trepidation because he gave her a friendly smile, showing her empty open palms.

“Heh, you probably don’t remember me, I’m in some of your classes,” he said hopefully

Sapphire snapped her fingers 

“Sleeping Beauty!” she cried out before covering her mouth in her hands, eyes wide and face burning.  _ I neva jus’ seh dat. Mi coulda neva jus seh dat to dem face. _ The loud belly laughs made her bury her face in her hands as she mouthed “Nooooo,” When she could finally set aside her mortification she looked back at her classmate.

“I am so sorry,”   
“What for?” he asked, raising an eyebrow “If anything I should be thanking you. Not everyday someone as pretty as you compliments me,” Sapphire felt her face warming again, for a completely different reason as he gave her a shy smile and a shrug “I’ll take it. Thanks…?.”

“Sapphire, she supplied. She stuck her hand out to shake as she descended the steps. “Sapphire S. Scott.”   
“Ah, your folks are fans of alliteration?” he joked walking forward, only to cringe and remove his foot as he tried to climb the stairs.    
“Are you alright?” Sapphire asked, concerned. He grinned ruefully up at her and flashed an “ok” sign.

“Just an old injury acting up. Makes it a pain in the ass to deal with stairs, especially steep ones like these.”

“Stay there then, don’t hurt yourself,” 

On even ground, he (like most people) towered over her and he shook her proffered hand.

“Well Sapphire S Scott, Daniel G Erikson at your service. Everyone calls me Dan though...but I wouldn’t stop you from calling me Sleepi-”

“Argh! Nooo,” she groaned again, eliciting another round of laughter. 

“Sorry, sorry I had to. Sorry, Sapphire,’

‘It’s alright. And Sapphire can be a bit of a mouthful, you can call me Saph.”

He nodded and smiled “Short and sweet. I like it. Ok Saph, how about we get to class before all the seats close to the heating vents are gone.” Without missing a beat he smoothly slipped her bag over his shoulder as he shortened his stride to stay beside her. As they walked away, one pair of glowing eyes, then another, then another until there were seven pairs glaring malevolently before they disappeared again, like a candle being snuffed out.


End file.
